Odd problem, wondering if anyone has experienced ..........


Fired up a fresh engine last night and everything seemed fine, ran it for about 1/2 hr and up to about 180 degrees and shut it down to check things, It ran perfect. After a few minutes we noticed a few drops of water on the floor. Water was dripping out of the #5 cylinder exhaust port, actually seeping past the header gasket. It appears the #1 and the #8 are leaking too. Drained the oil, no water in the oil. Pulled the plugs, they look good. NO SMOKE whatsoever while running. I pressure tested it and it instantly starts dripping from the #1

Quick recap........

Fresh .030 454 block. My old Brodix STS 305 heads with new exhaust valves and springs, heads were not touched other than a valve job and were not cut. Same headgaskets I've always ran, obviously new.

I'm gonna pull the header off tonight and pressure test it and have a look, but I'm kinda stumped ????

Any ideas on what to look for ????



Thanks !!!!

Retorque heads. See if it goes away.

Did you use bolts or studs on the heads? Did you seal the threads? Maybe coming up the studs and appearing it's coming from the exhaust port.

quote:

Originally posted by deadon1578:
Did you use bolts or studs on the heads? Did you seal the threads? Maybe coming up the studs and appearing it's coming from the exhaust port.

This would be my guess.....

You could also pull a valve cover and see if there is water coming up around the head bolts or studs under pressure.

I use ARP bolts with Teflon paste.

It's definitely does not look like its coming from the outer, lower head bolts but anything is possible. I'll pull the valvecover for sure and check too, but the oil looked real good, absolutely no water.

I should be able to pinpoint the leaks once the header is off. Just seams odd how good it ran and no smoke. I have a scope too, so i'll poke around and hopefully see something.


Odd problem



Thanks for the replies ........

Not a fan of the teflon paste I like the permatex aviation sealant #80019 on head bolts.

If it's leaking out of the exhaust port, My guess is coolant is seeping around the exhaust valve guides.

quote:

Originally posted by DLR:
If it's leaking out of the exhaust port, My guess is coolant is seeping around the exhaust valve guides.

That or the seats.

quote:

If it's leaking out of the exhaust port, My guess is coolant is seeping around the exhaust valve guides.

That was my thoughts also

These heads were running perfectly before being freshened up, don't really know how the guides could go bad from a basic valve job. Good news is , if it is the guides, I should be able to see it pretty clearly with the scope.

I've never used anything but the the paste on head bolts, never had any issues before but there's always the first time lol

I like to use Permatex 2B non-hardening, this stuff stays where you put it!

White paste will leak past a head bolt on a block without blind holes.

Permatex #2 brown goo on the threads and under the heads/washers of the bolt.

Indian head shellac also works.

Both are messy but seal up and stay sealed.

Lower the coolant level below the deck.....

Remove bolts that are leaking and clean threads with lacquer thinner and apply sealer....

I have seen small water droplets weep up at the bolt head and just pulled out bolt and added sealer even under the bolt head and washer to stop it.


If that's your problem you might need to check under the valve cover......makes a mess....water and oil.....not a good thing...


I highly doubt it has anything to do with the heads themselves....

Stock Iron heads sure it could be but not likely with a Brodix head....

I'd never use any Teflon paste, its crap.

Some of the BBC heads, the ex port is very close to the head bolt/stud hole in the head so if water is coming out of the head bolts from the threads is could get into the ex port. But on your heads I don't believe that's a problem so if water is getting into the chamber and coming out the ex port, or just getting into the ex port I'd be thinking cracked head. I'd take the headers off a pressure test to see if you can see where the water is leaking from and go from there. You could also rotate the motor to get that cylinder's ex valve open to get a camera in the cylinder also (or through the plug hole).

It you find that water is leaking out from the head bolt treads in the block, changes are it will seal itself from rust in a short time.

BTW, what head gaskets did you use?

Seems odd that it would be coming from both banks suddenly and at the same time, if cracks are suspected.

quote:

Originally posted by Richie:
I like to use Permatex 2B non-hardening, this stuff stays where you put it!

That stinky, sticky stuff is all I ever use. Hard to find at times though.

quote:

Originally posted by DLR:
If it's leaking out of the exhaust port, My guess is coolant is seeping around the exhaust valve guides.

That's where mine was leaking. Maybe Ceramic seal or something better.