Sad Day and has anyone had any luck with block sealer

[PLP6400]

I started this ranchero project over 5 years ago. The engine I got for it, was out of a 1978 Fairmont. Before I took the engine to have it rebuilt, I found at the wrecking yard a 1978 Granada with which apeared to be a rebuilt head. I pulled the head and everything was fresh. New head bolts, springs, valves, Rocker assembly. The car had been rear ended hard. I bought this head thinking to save a few bucks on my engine rebuild. I rebuilt the short block using forged pistons and chrome moly rings for the turbo charger. I had this engine in the Ranchero and only ran the engine to break in the cam. There was smoke but it was blue and I figured the rings hadn't seated. Then I got side tracked with my 65 Comet V-8 Project and my sons 65 Ranchero. A little over a year ago I got back to my Ranchero, but I had discovered that I can not live out power steering, power brakes, and Air conditioning. So off came the turbo charger and on went the Clifford header, Isky cam, and I modified the Log for a 450 Autolite 2 bbl carb. Also installed the AC, Power steering and Brakes. When I broke in the Isky cam the blue smoke was going away.

Today I took the Ranchero to DMV and got plates for it. I took it to a muffler shop and got the exhaust hooked up as well. I brought it home, took it off the trailer and decided to take the motor up past 2,000 RPM's
At about 2,400 RPM's White smoke starts coming out the exhaust and gets worse as the RPM's climb. I let the engine idle for about an hour in 95 degree weather and it did not over heat. But I have a feeling that the Bargain Head was not a Bargain. I may try some block sealer tomorrow. I wish I could remember what I used in 1991 in my 86 Ford Ranger. It had 2 cracked heads and I put this stuff in and went another 7 years and another 100,000 miles. It was running fine when I sold it.

 

[wsa111]

Have you checked to see if you are using coolant, does the exhaust smell like antifreeze?? I have used sealant before but it is a temporary fix. The best i found is general motors tablets, part #3634621 cooling system seal tabs. You have nothing to lose give it a try till you find the source of leakage. vr william

 

[ruckus68]

Whenever you buy a used head have it cleaned and magnafluxed to check for cracks. I bought a head and took it in and they took a 2 second look at it and told me it was cracked. got my money back and spent 10X the amount on an oz head.

good luck and i hope you can get her fixed up

John

 

[gtm1086]

First pull the head and have it checked for cracks.

Also be sure to check that your head bolts are not bottoming out in the block causing the head gasket not to seal.

The fix a leak stuff is only a band aid that will probably fail when you least expect it.

 

[addo]

I've known these products to last for years. Depends where the crack is, if one exists. You can't use inhibitor - that's the big "undoer" as it reopens the crack!

 

[Anonymous]

I have seen K & W Block Sealer do things I never thought possible from a can.

 

[PLP6400]

I tried block sealer and nothing changed, still a lot of smoke after 1500 RPM's. I pulled the head and there was lots of oil in the cylinders and in the exhaust, of course it was dry and caked on in the exhaust ports. The strange thing is that it was white smoke and I had two other people's opinion on the color. I wiped the cylinders and cranked it over with the starter and held my finger over the oil passage at the back of the engine. Oil did start apearing in the cylinders. So I am assuming my rings are bad. It has been over four years since I had this engine rebuilt and it has only run basically to break in two cams and load it on the trailer for paint and exhaust. I am going to replace the rings and hope that is the problem. But I do have a question. I am going to take the head and have it checked out and milled. Right now I have zero deck height as far as the piston and top of block go and I don't know if this head has ever been milled before. Does any one know what the height of a stock head is and what it should be with zero deck height and trying to have 9 to 1 compression ratio. By the way the engine and head are both 1978 vintage.
Thanks for any help.
Pat

 

[Anonymous]

There are probably other ways, but probably having the head CC'd would be most accurate. A good machine shop could probably tell you.

Oil smoke is blueish in color. If the smoke is white, this sounds like antifreeze. I once did a valve job on a '72 Polara wagon. I put it all back together and "steam" poured out the exhaust. I thought, S*&%, what did I do wrong. I soon figured out that when I pulled the head, antifreeze poured down into the disconnected exhaust pipe, and was burning out of the system. I assume that you have run this engine long enough to burn out anything that might have gotten into the system. I am just learning about inline Fords, could it be possible that one of the exhaust manifold bolts might have penetrated the water jacket and be leaking directly into the manifold? Just a guess.