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Took the old Packard for a spin around town this afternoon, it was a nice dry day here in Connecticut. The car ran great as usual. When we got home, everyone went inside and I did my typical nose around under the hood, you know; oil, coolant, just look at it, etc. I noticed coolant ponding in the #2 spark plug recess, about deep enough to reach the hex on the plug. I sopped that out and started it back up and noticed what appears to be steam venting from around the plug threads, as far as I can tell. That can't be good, bad gasket? Cracked head? Any thoughts? It's a new one on me. The coolant is tested down to -45 degrees F, I think the low all year has been 6 above. Thanks!

Most likely a blown head gasket. Take out the plugs and have a look. Any plugs that are perfectly clean, came from a cylinder with a blown gasket. I suspect the gasket is blown between cylinder #2 and #3.

Head gaskets are not too hard to replace, easier than on an OHV engine anyway.

Do not run the engine with antifreeze in the oil, it can take out your bearings.

Thanks Rusty, kind of what I figured (and hoped!) I did notice some minor bubbling between the head and block in that area this past fall and knew the time was short. Nothing in the oil though, but I'm sure thats not far behind... BTW, what does that head weigh anyway? (245 Six) I only ask because this is primarily a one-man job (me).

Check head bolt torque first. How old is the gasket????

I would order a new head gasket and manifold gaskets.
The head is a little heavy , around 50 lbs or so.

I wouldn't run it any longer than I had to, if it fails it's possible to damage ring lands.

I found that wood shims work well getting the head past the studs, work your way around the head /block with several.
I broke out the centers of a couple of spark plugs and welded eye bolts in them .I use my engine hoist to help with the weight of the head.

RT

If you retorqued the head when you first saw the minor bubbling it might have survived, now I am afraid you need to replace the gasket.

Head weight about 40 pounds for a six. Not too heavy but awkward to handle, so far under the hood. Can be done without a hoist but the hoist makes things easier.

Thanks guys, your responses have helped ease my mind of some of those pesky what-ifs. About 200 miles ago, when I did the water pump, I had checked the head nuts and they were OK. As far as I can ascertain, the gasket is at least 50 years old. My history of the first owner up to 1952 is limited to a name and address only. Anyway, I'll run down some parts and pop that off there. I'm more than a little curious to look in there too, just to see. Doesn't look like a bad job either, the hard part is the weight. Is the gasket copper?

Just a thought 39 . . . Seems strange the coolant pooling around the plug, as a tight plug with a decent (spark plug) washer I would have thought would be an 'airtight' seal. If not I guess pressure is high enough to be pushing steam past and this is condensing there to form a puddle.

Others are most probably right about blown head gasket, however here is a thought . . . .

I wonder how close the water jacket comes to the spark plug hole. Is it possible the head has cracked or corroded through between the plug hole / plug recess and the water jacket (which is allowing the coolant through)? Of course there might be a 'mile' of iron between the jacket and the plug, but I'd suggest checking for cracks anyway. Not much fun getting it all back together to find that you have a cracked (or possibly warped) head.

Larry51 makes and excellent point about the possibility of a cracked head.

Larry, an excellent observation and point. I wonder if it has an aluminum head? They were prone to cracking thru the plug holes, but if the head is cast iron and the plug is in securely, the leaking AF will go out the tail pipe and can't pool around the plug.

Guess we need more information.