8BA block leaking water from exhaust port ?

[dono50]

Installed an 8BA engine with new rings,bearing and valve job.
Added water and a stream of water exiting thru the header on the passenger side.
Loosened the bolts on the header and the water is coming from the center port. Any help appreciated

[ford38v8]

Sounds like at least one of your exhaust manifold bolts was too long and penetrated the water jacket. I haven't had the pleasure, but I'm told that it can be repaired with sealer on the bolt threads.

[Ol' Ron]

I had a cracked exhaust port in #5 cyl. The blind hole had a bad heli coil in it. When trying to replace it the bottom of the hole broke out and water cot into the cyl and oil?? tried to fix it with some cermac stuff, but no go. Good engine too.

[Roger/Sacramento]

I had water in the exhaust initially with my motor. Head gasket leak. Check your plugs.

[Bluebell]

You want to hope its the head gasket.

[dono50]

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I hope it's the headgasket but there is no water in the oil'

[Bluebell]

If you drop of the header, you''ll be able to see if it's from one of the stud holes or the exhaust port itself. If it's a port, you'll know which cylinder to look carefully at when you remove the head. Worst case is a crack at the valve seat to the bore.

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by dono50

I hope it's the headgasket but there is no water in the oil'

There are no oil passages in a flathead head.
You may have a bad gasket that dumps coolant into the combustion chambers, but only the coolant that bypasses the pistons rings will get in the oil.

You say the port is leaking. Does that mean you eliminated the bolt holes as a possible source?

It could be a cracked block. Is it leaking from the center port? The center ports are more prone to crack than the others.

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

i'll tell you a little story about a new engine I had leaking out the center exh port. I pulled the head and noticed a crack between the top center bolt hole and the water hole about 1/2in below that bolt hole. You would think the gasket would seal that crack but with enough enspection I relized the bolt was to short and the water was leaking from the crack below the threads in to the exh port. I cleaned the threads on the block good and put a good sealer in the threads and used a longer bolt with sealer on it that extended in to the exh. port and it never leaked again. That's my story and I;m sticking to it. Walt

[Bluebell]

It's a good story Walt because all these little bits help us learners to build a knowledge base about these engines. Thanks.

[dono50]

Thanks for the possible causes. I have the header off and will refill with water and see if i can track it down.
Walt, a question for you. When you replaced the top bolt was it the stock size length or longer? If longer, about how much?

[dono50]

btt

[Jack E/NJ]

Walt #9>>>>>>crack between the top center bolt hole and the water hole >>>used a longer bolt with sealer on it that extended in to the exh. port>>>

Jack E/NJ

[GOSFAST]

Pay attention to Walt here, this is good call!

I'll place some shots below here that may help??

If there's a crack AND if it's not like the "Grand Canyon", you may have a good shot at an easy repair. It's going to all depend on how "lucky" your day is in the end!

Walt has it correct with the sealer and the longer bolt, we had one similar but did the repair from another angle. The head bolt hole needs to be through to the exhaust crossover for this repair to have a chance at working!

We cut a short stud (stainless steel), placed in the head bolt hole to leave most of the original threads still visible. The length of the stud is important, 1.062"/1.125", you have limited threads to work with and still accept the head bolt when you've finished. The 1.062" number is preferred. This stud dimension will leave about 1/2" exposed threads with a 1/4" of the stud threads doing the holding! A screwdriver slot in the end of the stud makes the installation easier. This is seen in the photo, not all that clear, but the slot is there.

Seal up the stud with some decent sealer, we use the hard setting Permatex. Try to get the sealer down INTO the thread area, don't put it on the stud and screw the stud in, this will "shear" the sealer off the stud. Install the stud until it bottoms against the exhaust passage.

It's really a long shot, and we did it only one time, but it worked in our case. The unit was on the engine stand with no head in place, which made all this much easier.

There is no guarantee this is even your issue, but it's worth a shot. It would probably be worth the time to R&R the one head. Get a closer look??

(Add) The distance between the deck surface and the heat-crossover is 1.562" (nominal).

(Add-2) All this info depends on (1) this type crack is the issue, (2) how bad/where the crack is, and (3) stated above, your luck!



Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. If you do the above procedure don't forget to double-check the head bolt length for reinstallation. It cannot come in contact with the top of the stud in the hole during torquing! Use the same sealer on the head bolt/stud. A stud would be better served here, this could hit/rest against the stud with no issue! Good luck, if you have any other questions just contact me. Below here the photos show the stud, the stud being installed, and the finished job!

[dono50]

Gary,
Thanks for the helpful info and photos.
A question: What is the advantage of using the 1.62 ss stud and headbolt as opposed to using a longer headbolt as Walt suggested. Does your method allow for a more accurate torque setting for that one headbolt?
At this point it's certainly worth a try but it's a big leak. When I filled the radiator the water was exiting the header like a slightly opened faucet .
The flatheads are always full of surprises!

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Originally Posted by dono50

Gary,
Thanks for the helpful info and photos.
A question: What is the advantage of using the 1.62 ss stud and headbolt as opposed to using a longer headbolt as Walt suggested. Does your method allow for a more accurate torque setting for that one headbolt?
At this point it's certainly worth a try but it's a big leak. When I filled the radiator the water was exiting the header like a slightly opened faucet .
The flatheads are always full of surprises!

It sounds like you have a pretty good leak, you might even have a crack somewhere in the exh. channel down through the block. That stud hole goes right into the exh port so you I think you can use a 1/2 or 3/4 longer bolt. Walt

[Jack E/NJ]

Garry>>>you have limited threads to work with and still accept the head bolt when you've finished.>>>

I might add that, after plugging up that leaky hole, a flathead often doesn't care too much if a head stud or 3 are missing. 8^)

Jack E/NJ

[GOSFAST]

Originally Posted by dono50

Gary,
Thanks for the helpful info and photos.
A question: What is the advantage of using the 1.62 ss stud and headbolt as opposed to using a longer headbolt as Walt suggested. Does your method allow for a more accurate torque setting for that one headbolt?
At this point it's certainly worth a try but it's a big leak. When I filled the radiator the water was exiting the header like a slightly opened faucet .
The flatheads are always full of surprises!

Hi Don, it's difficult to diagnose some of these issues over the "web", it's much easier when the all the pieces are in front of us.

Judging by how fast the water is exiting I would still recommend R&R'ing the one head and maybe the intake. You would most likely have a better "picture" in front of you??

The repair I mentioned above is very similar to Walt's idea but uses a separate piece to block off the hole at the bottom of the thread. This allows the use of the original bolt or stud, possibly only by some shortening of a thread or two from the bottom. A stud would be more forgiving, just put it as deep as necessary.

The stainless material would be slower to "burn" away over time than conventional steel. It may never, actually, but what you are attempting to accomplish is buy some time for everything involved to basically "rust-closed" on it's own. Sounds wierd but it works. Sort of like a leaking stud or freeze plug, eventually they stop (99% of the time anyway).

In the end here, it's going to be your "judgement call", at this point you are closest to the issue!

(Add) Hi Jack, caught your post late, I calculated out the numbers and after the repair I mentioned the remaining thread depth works out to be .500"+, give or take few. This is still enough threads to hold a head bolt or stud. He does have a dilemma! If I were certain about the problem/outcome, I know it could be accomplished without ever removing the head. It's a tough one for sure!

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. The explanation of the leak now sounds more serious than a "slight" crack, I just don't know from where I'm sitting here. I'd be happy for you to "nail" this one with little effort! Good luck in any event. Keep us all posted.

[russcc]

Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. Was the block magna-fluxed after cleaning ? Were there any cracks ? Were they pinned ? Was the block pressure tested after those procedures ? If it was pressure tested before assembly, and no leaks, you may have a simple solution to the issue.

[Bluebell]

Ruscc, Do you mean the head gasket?
It sounds like too much water to be anything else?
Gofast, wouldn't it be better to make up a stud with a longer thread, and set that stud in there? or am I missing something?