why does a head leak oil

[ccharr]

Nate,
Thanks again for this post above on the leaks. I took the truck up on the freeway for a spin for about 2 or so miles round trip. And I just finished taking apart all I did over the last weekend and the oil leak area seems not be as good as it was. Wondering if this is where all the dripping oil is coming from? With everything off there is no way to check it running looks like I have got to pull the head and change the gasket there, also noticed in the photos that one of the freeze plugs has a repair on it. The other photos showed it also but I was only looking at the oil seep leak it shows up with the silver beads of the sealer. May as well change that also. I may call the engine rebuilder and ask if he/they have any clues as to why this is doing what it is. I really would like to see what the come back will be. Guess I?ll order the stuff from Napa tomorrow and find a machine shop to take the manifold to. Got to find the damn books I bought for the engine.
Charles

 

[vwnate1]

Weeps & Seeps

Really Charles ;

The ports are clean and dry so the oil weeping almost has to be deck leaks .

In this case , I'd chamfer the bolts holes a bit , then blow them out clean with ether (starting fluid) , buzz all the head bolts on a wire wheel until they're shiny as new and easily run right into their holes and back out again with nothing on the bolt threads when wiped deep in the threads with toilet paper , then re assemble with the Kopper Cote spray , two coats on each side of the copper head gasket .

This might be one of those flat latex house paint times as the leaks clearly have little pressure and are oil , not coolant .

I'd not waste a moment talking to whom ever did it last , now it is time to do the job right , you'll do better works than anyone else because YOU CARE .

FWIW , Victor/Reintz (NAPA) has the long , one piece gasket you want .

BRASS Welch (' freeze ') plugs and consider changing them all out now you have the manifolds off .

They bang right in easily with a socket that fits snugly inside , attached to a 1/2" drive extension and a BFH .

Getting the old ones out is simple too : use a blunt drift in the inner edge and knock each plug IN/U] , once it's in grasp the edge with you BIG water pump pliers and twist it to bend & collapse it then it'll fall right out on your hand .

 

[ccharr]

The guys at the local Napa could not find the Victor/Reinz full length gaskets, the gaskets for this engine they could find they stated would take 4 to 7 days to get here??? one of the other chain stores had the newer type gasket sets not the copper one, so i ordered that, and not the copper set.????
Not sure where my manuals are anymore and hopefully all the tool are here to get the job done. Hopefully the back will allow this to be finished.

 

[vwnate1]

Gasketing

You're using the Fel-Pro blue head gasket ? .

It's good , I'm just old and prefer copper head gaskets , too many failures with tin head gaskets no matter what kinda coating they have or you add .

NAPA gaskets should be in in less than 24 hours......

As your back is crunchy , consider looking the gaskets up @ RockAuto.Com , they're pretty speedy and often have odd ball and/or closeouts for really cheap .

Mind your back Charles ~ I'm working up some cylinder head lifting bars so (maybe) I can still change a cylinder head with help from my brother .

Last night was really bad , this afternoon after work I had to swap out the Camry's alternator (ding-dang low car !) then jack up & block my Metropolitan Nash FHC , adjust the four wheel brakes , drain , refill & clean the magnets in the rear end , grease all 27 (or whatever) Zerk fittings and check the trunnions for play ~ I found the upper right one has nearly 1/4" play ,no wonder the car shimmies @ speed over certain pavements .

I've been rebuilding the entire front suspension piece by piece , the upper right A - Frame is the last of it .

Gotta work slow and deliberately Charles ~ Virginia and the Puppy are depending on you .

 

[Blueflame236]

Remanufacture engine.

Charles

Ginger beer or root beer taste great and we love it here to with lots of cracket ice. The wife makes ice tea at home using the real ingredients wich taste better then the nestl? tea from the store.

I used the Felpro gasket and it works great. Bought some heat resistant brown locktite (sticky stuff) to get it in excact position. If your pulling the cyl. head i would recommend you to buy new head bolts as the old onces are streched after some previous rounds torqing them. Have a look at the head cam aswell , maybe it needs polishing ? Need to ask you if you know when tightning the head bolts if its needed to use blue locktite or is copper grease better when inseting new bolts ?

Have a nice weekend Martinius.

 

[Blueflame236]

Great reply with lots of good information Nate

Good day Nate.

I have changed the parts on the old mercedes except from the rear wheel bearings. I need to take the rear axle spindles out to change and lube them. But i adjusted the brakes and evrything is just working fine again. Used a pully tracker to get the steering rod of as it whas difficult to slam it with the hammer from underneath. I bought the deer John corn head grease as earlyer mentioned wich looks like a great substance to me , kinda sticky stuff.

Nate could you tell me the reason why you recommend using this spray compound ?

I always use Permatex " Kopper Kote " spray on both sides of the head gasket , at least two coats , I hang it up , spray it until a complete light cover then allow to tack up for 10 ~ 15 minutes , re - coat it again , allow another 10 ~ 15 minutes then I assemble the cylinder head to the engine .

Have a nice weekend Martinius.

 

[vwnate1]

Gasketing & Torquing

O.K. ;

It's early (not really , 05:54) and I've not yet had my Coffee so NO WHINING if I make mistakes here ,'K ? .

It's CRITICAL to always torque cylinder heads (and everything else) from the center then work your way out ! .

Martinus , the Kopper Kote stuff , or the 1/2" wide stripe of flat latex house paint around the inside perimiter of the head gasket , is a phophylactic measure to prevent leaks .

Just like wire bushing the threads on every bolt then testing how it hand spins into it's hole before re use , is just good practice .

In spite of all my various training , most of the Machinery I touch , is older so I beleive in taking that ' extra step ' on every job .

This is why my clapped out 42 year old pickup truck is waiting patiently by the curb , ready to go wherever I want , at a moment's notice .

For me , thereare NO ' extra steps ' , this is what you're supposed to do and why I always push the fine folks here to do their own repair works ~ because THEY CARE and so tend to do better works .

I sure hope Charles wasn't hinting at me about the where are his books comments , My books are miles away so I don't have access to the correct torque spec. for a 235 , even if I did , I'd have no way to post up the proper tightening sequence .

I'm sure The Old Car Manual Project wil have it in copy & paste-able format .

I wish I could go do Charles' head gasket for him as I owe him BIG TIME .

Me , I always re use the original hardare as the new stuff seems to be crap to me .

I'm always grabbing old hardware off junkers and installing i on my rigs , this gives me peace of mind .

Did I forget anything ? .

 

[ccharr]

Nate,

Did not get the gaskets this morning just the two part exhaust set, the guy mistook my order?? So today has been a slow day not much done only traveling as fast as the body allows, have the old manifold off and back from the machine shop and right now it is on. Just looking at on line what the bolts need tighten to, the figuration of the bolts and the manifold will not allow a torque wrench on the two most center ones so some MacGyverisum method will have to be it. The leaks will get fixed later and if this 2 barrel does not work today then tomorrow after coming back from breakfast I'll throw 1 of those matched Carter YF's I had built to go on a dual set-up and just drive it. I did find most of my books/pamplets/manuals but the one I really needed, that is why on line is so good.

Thanks for all the help Nate,
Charles

 

[ccharr]

Martinius,

If I ever get to get into this engine I will keep what you have suggested in mind. Today the parts house did not have my gaskets I thought I had ordered just the ones for the exhaust so today it is back on with the manifold after being straightened and by dark I should have her running again. If not then I'll go with plan YF tomorrow. Enjoy the week end.

Charles

 

[ccharr]

recycle can it goes

Not sure what is going on with this setup,the truck will not run hardly at all now worse than it did yesterday and the oil pressure gauge line busts and oil all over the place again. This will be the 4th time this carb set-up has been on the truck and it is not going to be on anything again this carb I taking a f'n double jack to and it will be beer or soda cans by next month.

 

[SinclairChevy]

Sorry you're having so much trouble with this set-up, Charles. I was hoping to find a two- or four-barrel set-up for my 235 when I get to that point. I don't suppose you'd be interested in selling it? Maybe it needs torn down and rebuilt? I dunno anything about them, but I'm always looking to learn something new!

Damon

 

[ccharr]

Sorry you're having so much trouble with this set-up, Charles. I was hoping to find a two- or four-barrel set-up for my 235 when I get to that point. I don't suppose you'd be interested in selling it? Maybe it needs torn down and rebuilt? I dunno anything about them, but I'm always looking to learn something new!

Damon

Damon,
Private message me with your info and I'll send it to you along with any paperwork or emails I have, if you like it and Tom Langdon and you can make contact and get it dailed in with the setup working for you, then and only then send me something fair. Today I have fixed the electrical problem on my 01 Metro am about to change out the starter on my F250 then I'm taking out all I did yesterday and finding where and why the oil line went bye bye on me. and cleaning up all the Oil all over the place, this engine has wonderful oil pressure .
Talk soon,

Charles

Oh, Happy Fathers Day everyone,

 

[ccharr]

Today was a really good day, Got the starter put onto the F250, finished taking off the 2 barrel and goodies, seen where the oil gauge line took a crap and fixed all the oil lines to where they will not be an issue again. I have a lot of things to do to get the truck ready for another go around. Was looking at the manifold I had surfaced and very little is left on the manifold. The rings which go into the intake holes may have been to tall after this grind off. So during the week while the parts get here I'll do some dry runs to see if all the goodies line up and can be bolted to the head. The 2 barrel will never be on my truck again. To many issues with it for me, good thing Damon saved it from the 8 pound BFH because that is where it was headed.
Hope all of you were able to do only what you really wanted to do.

 

[vwnate1]

Plan yf from carter carby co.

That's a good plan Charles .

I feel so badly I'm not able to leap in and fix it for you .

 

[ccharr]

Thanks Nate,

As it was it was a slow good day that only required me getting a lot done.
Once the items I'm ordering gets here I'll put on one of the YF's and call it good until I do a dual carb set up if ever.
Looks like you had a great day with the family.

Charles

 

[vwnate1]

Family Time

Any day spent with my Son is good time ! .

I don't mind working on greasy old rigs , plumbing toilets , whatever it takes .

I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams with him .


Sadly his Mother continues to be mean spirited and hostile to his wife so he's about ready to cut her out of his life .

You can't pick your Family ~ no one knows this better than I .

 

[Blueflame236]

Manifold rings

Charles .There are undersized manifold rings for sale that fits your GMC engine ! Means the al. rings are not as high as the onces you have but the same dia. If they are not availeble you could have the shop to find the best match rings. Do not use the old onces as they have been compressed and will most likely give leaks again. Your plan sounds good.

Martinius.

 

[vwnate1]

Manifold Alignment Rings

No ~

There are two sizes , 216 & 235/261 , they cannot be interchanged .

 

[ccharr]

The sogga moves on

Finished up today on the carb and manifold issue, the 2 barrel is not on the truck. I ground down the rings a few thousands and used the over ground down manifold. Did three dry runs before adding the gaskets, and then had to redo it another time before it married to the head correctly. Still has some little hiss somewhere but it is way far better than the leaks of the 216 manifold. I had two Rochester carbs from Allen and the Payson engine so I tried them out, one idled okay but ran crappy; the other was really stuck but some wetter water, wd40, liq. wrench, denatured alcohol with some carb cleaner and away she went. Ran way better than that 2 barrel ever dreamed of for me.
That was yesterday afternoon I then went looking for a new carb on the computer. Found Carburetor Exchange @ 3207 Peck Road, El Monte, CA 91731, went there this morning around 10:00 AM and they built me an YF Carter took the Rochester as partial core and I was gone by 11:30 AM and still paid less than what is out there in the retail store by at least half the price. At the door a 235 Rochester was 125.00 with a good core.
I get back home do what it takes for it and now the truck is running way way better than it has ever. Now for the other issues on it. I will go there from now on.

Nate Thanks for all the help and parts you helped me with, I will have the other manifold cleaned and returned to you. Now it is on to getting the oil leaks fixed. The rear main has more oil leaking from it than ever. I am going to see if the builder has to offer. After our talk about the pump pressure, I read that the higher pressure pumps cause a lot of leaks and that I feel may be my issue.

 

[vwnate1]

Better

Glad to hear it's doing better Charles .

You shoulda told me you didn't have access to a bead blaster ~ I don't need that manifold back , I'll just hold onto it for the next needy trucker .

If you clean it up , $ell it and keep the Lolly .