head gaskets

Need to know if anybody knows how to stop copper head gaskets from leaking the A460 heads are o ring but the block isn,t
I have tryed cooper spray on them did not work i was woundering if there was something you could put in the cooling system
this is a 572 a460 motor with water leaking in #8 cylinder with 16% leak down all other cylinders has 4% put water will not seal
on that cylinder the motor has no passes on it it has just been freshed up any help would be greatly appericated

thank dfout

toss um in the trash and put cometics on it......

The heads have o ring in them does,nt this make a differents

on my 521 i had sce cooper gaskets and had issues with head gaskets leaking or seeping or lifting between cylinders .......... o-ringed block , not the heads

now with my last build that was done by Lem Evans and Bob the 562" same cylider heads (edelbrocks) i went with the cometics and they were great , no leaks , no blown gaskets .... i even tore down the engine this past weekend and the impression on the gaskets with each cylinder (on both sides) were perfect ....if that means anythings


make sure your machinest ra's the block and the heads to spec


cometics ftw !!!!!!!

i've tried every "fix" for your problem and had little luck.my block is o-ringed and the heads dont have a reciever groove which i'm told is the problem.last time i had mine off it was leaking in 4 out of 8 cyl's. i used the spray on copper coat,3 heavy coats letting it dry between coats. then i let them hang and dry overnight before i put them on. i also use head studs and have found if i pull them to factory bolt spec with 30w oil they hold best.be sure and clean them good and use a red scotch brite on them too. on the block sealer i've had best luck with the ceramic seal that you run through the system then drain and let it dry 24hrs. hope this helps....

if i were you and had the heads off anyway,i'd cut the heads and use a cometic! JMO,my new motor has cometics on it...

cool40 wrote:i've tried every "fix" for your problem and had little luck.my block is o-ringed and the heads dont have a reciever groove which i'm told is the problem.last time i had mine off it was leaking in 4 out of 8 cyl's. i used the spray on copper coat,3 heavy coats letting it dry between coats. then i let them hang and dry overnight before i put them on. i also use head studs and have found if i pull them to factory bolt spec with 30w oil they hold best.be sure and clean them good and use a red scotch brite on them too. on the block sealer i've had best luck with the ceramic seal that you run through the system then drain and let it dry 24hrs. hope this helps....

thanks i just put motor back in car i will try that were can you get the ceramic seal at.

I also use cometics. No leaks. The common denominator is food for thought.

http://www.moroso.com/catalog/categorydisplay.asp?catcode=22005

N/M

I have never ran them before , but some of my friends that run 1471 blowers are running o ringed blocks and reciever grooves and have no issues with leaking. This is bbc stuff , but the way they talk the reciever grooves are manditory.

depends on the amount of wire exposed, and gauge of wire used, but a reciever grove allows the head block assembly to compress better. Otherwise you have a .0015 air gap around every cylinder or so with the gasket above the wire. One slick trick seen on some alcohol based spring car blocks, they actually cut a grove and seated O rings around all the water ports in block and head, so the water passages were sealed with rubber O rings.

I used a dab of ultra grey RTV, mayb .002" thick smear around the water passages on the gasket surfaces before setting them down.

I do run reciever groves so I get a little better compression of the head to the deck, and have had no leaks.

You need an uninterrupted, very thin film coating of sealant around ALL the water holes on both sides of the gasket.

You don't need a receiver groove IF the "O" ring is .008" proud or less...

I want to thank everybody for there help i will try some of those tricks

you guys have been a big help

I used copper head gaskets on some of my Cleveland stuff. They didn't seal water very well at first when I tried the copper spray sealer. What worked best was GE aluminum silicone on both sides of the gasket.

Also you might try re-torqueing the heads after the first few heat/cool cycles if copper head gaskets are used to make sure the O-ring is fully embedded in the copper (especially if the O-ring stands out of the groove a little too much).