got it fired up - need help with issues

[bucket]

Fired up the rebuilt motor last night, ran for 25 minutes to break in cam. man, that was a long 25 minutes. sounded great! need new exhaust though.

Issues:

I noticed after i filled up the system with coolant, I had a drip at the left rear portion of the engine. i thought the head gasket was leaking, so i rechecked torque to 70 pounds and all seemed to be tight. Leak seemed to be slowing down, so I started her up.

This morning, I had no drips on the ground but still a little moisture at the base of the head near the back corner. Thoughts?

Also noticed this morning that a small portion of the intake valley seal had made it's way out. It does not seem to be leaking oil, is the only fix to pull the intake and reseat?

[jhow66]

Sounds like you have a leak from the rear intake water port. Did you put sealer around port? (water ports only) As for the valley seal, if you take it back off , glue the seals to the block and let them dry before installing intake. No water in oil?

[bucket]

hmm....so do you guys think it's not the head gasket?

put sealer around water ports. should i have put any sealer on the intake bolts?

as for the valley gasket......if it's not leaking, should i just leave it alone? would it cause any driveability issues?

[jhow66]

If you put sealer on ports should be ok--no on bolts--valley gasket if not all the way out should be ok also. Have you run it again after cool off.

[bucket]

yea, i ran it again today......drove it a couple of miles. she started right up.

i still have the coolant leak. seems to be right where the head meets the block, above piston #7. i used the felpro head gaskets w/out any sealant. machine shop said block checked level, not sure about heads, i'll ask them again.

if the problem is a slightly warped head, is there a more forgiving head gasket?

does not look like there is any coolant on dipstick, and not seeing any white smoke.

[jhow66]

Did you use any sealant on your head bolts? If not check your head bolts right above leak to see if you have a seep from the bolt head.

[bucket]

i did use sealant on the bolts, but i will check the two around that area again.

another thing i noticed while driving today......oil pressure was reading high (at the H on the gauge). is this normal for a fresh rebuild? comes down some at idle once the engine has run awhile.

thanks for the ideas! i love this board.

[jhow66]

If one of them is leaking just drain coolant and take out that bolt and reseal and try it. Oil pressure is normal--means good bearing clearance--idle pressure is always lower then run pressure(RPM of pump)

[cdowns]

yes you should put thread sealant on the intake bolts if not you'll have oil leak ing on top of the manifold

[chevy2racr]

I agree with cdowns, RTV on the intake bolts and just another thought. how much sealant did you use around the water jackets on the intake. we do a little on race engines. but on a rebuilder stock I don't I just usea good felpro gasket. and too much sealant could be holding you up a hair, believe it or not it can happen.. but in this situation I'm guessing that is not the cause.

[jjk3]

Are you talking about the rubber that comes with the intake gasket for the front and rear of the manifold? If so, most people throw those away and put black RTV in its place. I watched Horespower TV today and they did the same thing. The guy said he kept having problems with the rubber blowing out, so they used RTV and haven't had a problem. Hope this helps some.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

As for the intake gasket leak use the new one piece fel-pro intake gasket work's bad ass...

[BrianStep72]

Guys,

I have had a similar problem on my truck, some coolant around the intake manifold. I've checked everything MANY times but after reading this post, I believe it's a bolt leak.

I'll pull the bolts 1 by 1 and put some sealant in there and torque them back down.

3 questions.
1) What's the best thread sealant to use?
2) Just a small bead down the side of the bolt before install, right?
3) these torque to 70 lbs right?

Brian

[lukecp]

I have had good luck with Permatex Ultra-Red Hi-Temp sealent on intake bolts. I just smear it all over the threads and put the bolt back in. Too much sealant wont hurt a thing on intake bolts, it will just squeeze out near the head of the bolt, and you can wipe it right off.

[jhow66]

Not 70 lbs. on intake.

[chevy2racr]

you don'tneed high temp. on the engine, just black RTV works fine

[bucket]

yes, i used silicone around the intake water jackets....hopefully not so much that it would hold it up but maybe that is why i had the valley gasket on the fron blow out.

i used the versachem blue 613 silicone sealant.

torqued head to 70, intake only to 20!

[bucket]

frenchblue72.......

do you have a part number on the one piece intake gasket? sounds cool, but i can't find it listed anywhere.

[bigjimzlll]

Use teflon thread sealant on intake and head bolts..ARP or permatex makes good stuff. Use permatex black,grey or blue RTV on the valleys..

[orange72350]

intake bolts are 28 foot pounds. did mine tonite. i use a sealer, permatex hi temp. comes in a white tube, expensive, but the best stuff u can buy,imo. use it at work on air brakes, cooling systems, anything u can think of, never leaks,. good stuff

[Phillip Johnson]

if all else fails.. K&W Block sealer.. (just kidding) That is the last resort if you are trading a FORD in at the dealer