Restoring Rusty

[Marshy]

Mix a small bottle of soapy water use it on all connections and leak paths. Check the whole thing so that way if its leaking through a seal you can explain why the gauge going down.

[Gregski]

then it was time to submerge the head in some water

I may do a hot water test as well by dumping in some boiling hot water, but if the heads leak in cold water then there will be no need to go to that extreme

[Gregski]

so how is it? does it work?

Yes the system works great?

here you can see bubbles coming only from the inlet coupling, I did not put any white tape on the threads and need to tighten it some more, but it's a great example of what the leaks would look like

posted a video here: Small Block Chevy Cylinder Test DYI Poor Mans Water Pressure Test

[Gregski]

Good morning everyone, just wanted to report that after 500 miles on the new rings and con rod bearings we are still shrapnel free, hee hee

also remember after 200 miles on the new rings I drained the break in oil to replace the rod bearings cause of a slight rattlin noise

so far no noises...

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Good morning everyone, just wanted to report that after 500 miles on the new rings and con rod bearings we are still shrapnel free, hee hee

also remember after 200 miles on the new rings I drained the break in oil to replace the rod bearings cause of a slight rattlin noise

so far no noises...

So far so good. Maybe you got away with it.

Looks like a late 1976-78 speedometer.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

So far so good. Maybe you got away with it.

Looks like a late 1976-78 speedometer.

The Man knows his clocks, ha ha!

[pontgta]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Good morning everyone, just wanted to report that after 500 miles on the new rings and con rod bearings we are still shrapnel free, hee hee

also remember after 200 miles on the new rings I drained the break in oil to replace the rod bearings cause of a slight rattlin noise

so far no noises...

Good to hear... you are definitely getting it done...

[Gregski]

so yanked the radiator to isolate it and pressure test it off the truck, I knew I had a pin hole leak by the inlet but I was wondering if there are other leaks as well, nope

picked up these 1 1/2" expansion plugs at NAPA they seem to do the job well

looks like the radiator cap lets go at 10 PSI, oh well that's good enuff I think

[Gregski]

using some high tech equipment here folks, let me tell you that

rocket science this is not, don't be skierd, the overflow nipple worked well to hook up the bicycle pump and fill it with air

[Gregski]

well with no glaring problems with the radiator we moved those expansion plugs over to the inlet and outlet rubber radiator hoses leading to and from the engine and plugged them up

[Gregski]

just like we did with our test cylinder head, we are going in through the water temp sending unit hole to put air in the engine

we were gentle as to not blow up the water pump seals, so just to 10 PSI

I removed the valve covers so that I could see some bubbles if any or hear some hissing, but no, none of that

I also removed the spark plugs to see if I can hear anything in there, nothing, by the way all plugs look the same, so #5 is purdie now

I left the engine pressurised at 10 PSI while I write this up, we'll see if it drops or stays level

[LT7A]

I'm enjoying your diagnostics. You should send these photos to Zefal and show them what a precision instrument their tire pump turned out to be. They would probably be impressed. Or tell you that your warranty was void.

I'm hoping you find something that is easy to fix, or that you had just managed to work out an air pocket. Good luck man.

[hatzie]

One of the pressure tests I typically do is to pressurize the system and run the engine. If the needle doesn't fluctuate or drop like a rock I don't usually have a problem.
You can get cooling system pressure testers from AutoZone's loaner tools.

10PSI is a little low for the radiator cap. They are usually rated for 14-16PSI. Every PSI drop is @ 4.333333°F lower boiling point.
Pure water boils at 228°F at 10PSI vs 254°F at 16PSI. 50:50 Coolant:Water will raise the boiling point around 10°F.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

10PSI is a little low for the radiator cap. They are usually rated for 14-16PSI. Every PSI drop is @ 4.333333°F lower boiling point.
Pure water boils at 228°F at 10PSI vs 254°F at 16PSI. 50:50 Coolant:Water will raise the boiling point around 10°F.

Thanks HATZIE so could i be loosing coolant via the radiator cap in the form of vapor on the account of it releasing pressure too early at 10 PSI rather than 15 PSI?

[hatzie]

It's possible. If you don't have a catch-can/overflow-bottle or the bottle is smaller than the overflow volume you're likely just blowing it out on the road.

[Gregski]

so this morning I was thumbing through this...

it's actually a great magazine called SUPER CHEVY

[Gregski]

when I came across this...

a YOGI'S INC distributor'/reseller ad (never heard of them actually) have you guys?

[RDrancher]

Originally Posted by Gregski

when I came across this...

a YOGI'S INC distributor'/reseller ad (never heard of them actually) have you guys?

Never heard of them before a few weeks ago. They had a booth set up at Goodguys in Ft Worth. They had hats and t's for $10 each. Since that's about the same price as a bottle of water at GG's, I bought one of each.

[Gregski]

when I spotted this

a Northern Radiator ad, (again never heard of these guys either)

[Gregski]

which led me to this

actually a smokin' deal on an aluminum radiator for a V8 small block with a manual transmission for only $271

CORE DIMENSIONS: 28 1/4 x 17 1/8 x 2 1/4

OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 33 x 18 3/8 x 3 1/8

[Gregski]

well it's been 24 hours and the pressurized engine (block, heads, and intake manifold) are still holding 10 PSI, so I am going to order that new Northern aluminum radiator this week after I get paid, and we'll change one thing at a time till we find the source

[hatzie]

If the Aluminum radiator is a good idea today it's still going to be a good idea in a couple days...
Try changing the cap to a Delco 10409635 (RC27) or STANT 10230 rated at 16PSI.
The fill neck could be borked but I'd replace the cap first. It's cheap and you can always order the Aluminum radiator on Tuesday or Wednesday if you still want it.

[Gregski]

so my plastic [ahem] PVC Mityvac MV4560 coolying system pressure test kit arrived from Amazon today, they deliver on Sunday's who knew?!

$50 bucks

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by Gregski

so my plastic [ahem] PVC Mityvac MV4560 coolying system pressure test kit arrived from Amazon today, they deliver on Sunday's who knew?!

$50 bucks

Who delivers on Sunday?

[rich weyand]

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

Who delivers on Sunday?

US Postal Service, believe it or not. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you get two-day free delivery. Order on Friday, it will come on Sunday. USPS delivers it.