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Hi all,

I think I need to replace the head gasket. Pretty sure it’s leaking, I’ve got many signs like rough running, white smoke from draft tube and tailpipe, coolant going down but not actively leaking out onto the ground. I think it got worse sorting through a restart after some work where I think the mechanic reversed my distributor and backfired the engine. I went through the ignition following the speedwell video and it’s actually running better… except for the above indicated coolant/smoking which is new.

I’m any event, I’m not meaning for this to be a diagnosis question, rather, I have limited time and only outdoor shared gravel driveway space to do this. I have a good idea of the procedure, but I’d appreciate any tips to make it faster, like spraying the copper sealant at a certain time then letting it sit while I do some other step. Also, I’m the event I have to leave the car in the driveway without a head on it, how should I do that? I have some extra plastic sheeting for bodywork and gorilla tape, maybe just sheeting off the open top with that?

Any tips are appreciated to make it as smooth as possible!

Thanks!

Definitely sounds like a head gasket issue. As long as there is no chance of condensation, just covering it with plastic I think would be adequate. Depending on the stage of things you could wipe it down with an oiled rag to further reduce the chance of flash rusting.

No tips as such, but unless you have a mechanical means of lifting and lowering the head from/onto the block a "helper with muscles" would be advisable. The head is heavy and awkward to access in your 22nd Series Packard while leaning over the fenders to reach it.

Quote:
Concerning leaving the head off the engine, I doubt the whole exercise of removing the head, putting on a new head gasket and replacing the head should take longer than 1/2 a day at the most. So leaving the head off the engine shouldn't be an issue.

It could be a head gasket or a crack somewhere you may want to send the head to a local machine shop that does engine work and make sure the head is not cracked.

True. Hopefully it will be obvious whether or not the head gasket itself is bad.

you want to make sure the head and the mating surface is very clean, especially around the studs.

If you have to let it sit for a day or even a week until the next weekend, I just sprayed the head down with WD-40 and covered it with an old towel and closed the hood. Of course if you are worried about mice or something maybe you have to do more.

Check the studs to make sure they aren't loose, and if they are, make sure to use some thread sealant, especially for those go into the cooling channels in the block. There is a nice tool for stud removal that you can get rather inexpensively from Autozone or Amazon. There are discussions about this in the forum.

Make sure you check the torque after each heat/cool cycle for the first 3 or 4 cycles, until everything settles down. Seems to be important.

Don’t use WD40! We did that once to bare metal surfaces in one of the machine shops where I started my apprenticeship when we were going to be closed for a long 4-day weekend and came back to find everything had turned brown. Use a light oil instead. WD40 is really not a good lubricant in spite what the label says.

Water Displacement 40(th iteration).


Use either an oily rag with engine dinosaurs on it or some of the many spray oils that come in aerosol cans.

Does anyone know how long a straight edge I’ll need to check the head? Most seem to be 24” or 50”. I’m hoping to get one this week and do this project Sunday.

Also, point of clarification, to “crack” the head off with compression I just turn it over with the plugs in but no spark correct? I assume combustion would cause destruction but just making sure. I’m going to start with the putty knife method but want some backups so I don’t absorb a day just trying to remove it.

How long have you continuously run this engine at any single time recently?
Do you have antifreeze in the cooling system?
Is the car drive-able?
How much coolant does it lose?
Have you observed any evidence of coolant in the engine oil? Any evidence of rust on the dipstick?

Have you examined the spark plugs after running the engine for 10 minutes or so to look for any evidence of coolant leakage into one or more cylinders?

If you have antifreeze in the engine and a head gasket leak, the exhaust will usually have a peculiar odor. It reminds me of the odor of Coca Cola spilled on a hot stove... a sort of scorched-sweet odor.

** Does your engine have an aluminum head?