Head Gasket ?

[Mark Merritt]

I was in A parade for the 4th yesterday, A very, very, hot day, excessive idling, no air flow, etc. and the right side exhaust was producing wisps of light grey smoke, It smelled like burned rubber. I pulled out of line and headed home. It did none of that all the way home, in the garage I raced and revved and nothing. I then pulled the plugs from the passenger side and they are burning white, I then pulled A plug from the left side and is light tan and normal. The engine has 8,000 miles since the rebuild and should I have re torqued after the break in? I am thinking it may be A head or intake leak that developed when it got on the hot side (it was still in the "normal" zone but I have never ran it that hot before). Carlisle coming up I am going to do A compression test and retorque the head and intake bolts. Kind of stuck on this one drive it anyway? I think it was burning coolant to make the plugs turn white. Any thoughts. Mark

[Faulkner]

Mark, it does sound like a head gasket - and, retorqueing might be all that it takes. I found that my intake manifold needed retorqueing, after I was spraying folks behind me with antifreeze: viewtopic.php?f=45&t=1325

In my case, I decided to replace the intake gaskets, although in hindsight I'm not sure that was necessary. I did have to retorque a couple of times after replacing, though.

[Mark Merritt]

Yesterday I went over and re torqued the intake and head bolts to specs and sequence. A couple of center head bolts got about 1/4 to 1/2 turn out of them, not real much and nothing real bad( nothing crazy) the center intake bolts did go about A turn or A little more, the rest were on the money. I am going to do A compression test today or tomorrow and if that is good I will be heading down. Worst case I will be on the side of I 79 drinking A case of Yuengling. Mark

[Faulkner]

Attaboy, Mark! Matthew says don’t bring any tools. If you bring ‘em, you’ll need ‘em!

[Matthew Keij]

You will make it!!! I believe in you

[Matthew Keij]

How’s the compression?? We are waiting impatiently

[Matthew Keij]

We are super excited to hear the good news some day

Dan really wants to know if the compression is good, he is jumping up and down here!

[Mark Merritt]

Started the test this morning and finished it this evening after A family function in Ohio. All is well, spec. say's 125-165 lbs, plugs all out and throttle blocked open. Every cylinder on mine was EXACTLY 125 !!! I used an older dial gauge with A plug hole adapter (threaded).So far so good. Going to put the plugs back in and the generator (that one behind it is hard to get at) and do A vacuum test tomorrow . Mark P.S. wasn't Matt chained up last year ??

[Faulkner]

wasn't Matt chained up last year ??

Indeed he was, Mark, at Dick's house. But Dick FedEx'd the chains to me, and I'm the beneficiary this year. He was ever-so-close to taking a field trip to Erie, PA! But I talked him off the ledge, it seems things are in good hands with you. Things are sounding good, I hope a solid re-torqueing was all that was needed.

[big m]

It's unlikely to be a head gasket, as the 125 PSI compression would force the radiator cap to spew coolant.

Most likely it's the additional heat has cooked some old residue in the exhaust system, or undercoating on the muffler.

---John

[Faulkner]

John, how do you explain the white residue in the spark plugs?

[big m]

If a cylinder is burning hotter than another, by being leaner or such, it will appear whiter on the plug porcelain. There are also additives in the fuel that can leave residue.

Coolant entering a cylinder, will cause steam, which shorts the plug out, causing a misfire.

It didn't sound like the car was actually overheating, or coolant would have boiled out of the radiator cap noticeably. Modern head gaskets do not need to be re-torqued in most cases, that was more so back when steel or copper head gaskets were used.

---John

[big m]

Main thing I'm saying, nothing points to a head gasket issue, so I'm doubtful.

---John

[Mark Merritt]

All is well !!! I did A vacuum test cranked the engine and got 10 lbs. did A start and run the engine and it was A steady dead nuts 21 lbs . I took the vacuum source at the power brake manifold nipple. My engine is healthy !!! So what have I learned ?????? My cat fixed it last night while I slept, Matts prayer to A Nordic god worked, Some kids in the side lines of the parade tossed A smoke bomb under A 60 year old car to watch A 61 year old driver get out and shit his pants, or as I am aging I am going knuckin phuts !!!! John thanks for the reply. I crawled under the car and it is possible some under coat may have flaked and burned. All other possibilities you suggest are also possible. What time is breakfast Saturday ? Thanks Mark

[Faulkner]

Carlisle is Your Destiny, Mark! I drank a few timers today, thinking about you. So glad all is well! Bring your banner - you'll be needing it in the lineup. The New... '59 Plymouths Are Here!!