Is this evidence of a damaged block?

[Bud]

Is the picture below evidence of a block leaking at the rear from a freeze crack? I am not sure because the paint is peeling all around the head gasket which tells me the head gasket was leaking. I doubt anyone has tightened the head nuts for a long time. (Not my car).

[ronn]

one cant tell from that photo........

[WHN]

Pull the head. No matter what is wrong, the head has to come off. Once it is removed, you will have a much better understanding of the issue.

Good luck.

[J Franklin]

Before you start tearing everything apart re-torque the head and clean up all the loose material from the block. If it is just a weep from the gasket don't get all worried about it. A sandwich gasket will do that. Pull the head only if you have to.

[eagle]

If it has colored coolant, use a kleenex in the area and it will show color. As said above, re=torque head before going further.

[katy]

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If/when retorquing the cylinder head nuts, back each nut off about 1/4 of a turn before retightening it to spec.

[Bob C]

Kind of hard to tell by the picture but it looks like a freeze crack at the
bottom of the water jacket of # 4 cylinder, not a leaking head gasket.

[frank55a]

Nobody mentioned this but prior to retorquing the head use one of those hydrometers to check the coolant. That should give a good indication as to if it is a freeze crack. If it does not show the coolant is good to at least the average cold winter temperature in your area it is provably a crack. If it is good to lower than the normal low temps for your area then it is probably a leaking gasket.

[J Franklin]

frank55a, how does that work? Why the difference?

[John]

That area of the block is prone to cracking. Sometimes this comes from adding water to a very hot engine. If it is cracked, a repair can be made with the epoxy putty products after cleaning the area well. This type of repair is fine for a non-pressurized water cooling system such as found on the Model A system.

[katy]

Originally Posted by John

Sometimes this comes from adding water to a very hot engine..

That happens when water is added to an overheated engine that is not running.
If one wants to add water to an overheated engine, make sure the engine is running and add the water slowly.

[frank55a]

Originally Posted by J Franklin

frank55a, how does that work? Why the difference?

I don't understand your question!

It is a well known fact that water freezes at 32 degrees F and as it freezes it expands such that it can rupture pipes, split rocks, and etc. If by using a Hydrometer or one of those coolant solution checkers available at any parts supplier you find that the coolant solution is weak and does not protect from freezing at the low temperatures expected for the area the A is located then, in all likelihood the coolant froze and cracked the block. No amount of retorquing will stop the leak and trying to do this is a waste of time. On the other hand if it is determined that the coolant solution is strong enough to protect from freezing for any temperatures that could have been reached then, in all likelihood it is a gasket leak.

[J Franklin]

Ok I see where you were going. I just figured that if it had antifreeze somebody put it there recently, or not. I think after a good cleaning and retorque things will be obvious.