I have been into y-blocks for some time now and seem to be plauged with blown head gaskets.It has happened on 3 separate engines.The latest one is 292 that has all fresh machine work,block has been decked and the heads have been freshly surfaced.it has happened with 3 different kinds of head gaskets.the first time it happened with felpro gaskets.the second time i used some no name brand .the third set is from Best gasket.the no name brand lasted almost 5000 miles.the best gaskets leaked after 500 mile retorque.I built a 292 for a friend and the same thing happened to him.this time both engines are leaking water into the oil,still has good comression.This has seemed to pop up after retorqueing the head gaskets after 500 miles.On both engines the head bolts were loosened and then re torqued to 80 foot pounds on the long ones and 75 on the short ones.assembly lube was used on the threads and heads.I tightened them in sequence according to the factory manual in three steps.first to 50 then 65 then the final reading.I have even tryed several different torque wrenches to make sure.I still have problems.Both engines have fresh machine work,I have checked for flatness and both are ok.What am i missing?Im so frustrated that I almost ready to give up on Y-blocks.I love the Y-block engines,but im loosing faith.

55 fairlane gasser 312 /c4, 57 f100 292/c4, 52 mainline gasser 302/t10 4speed

Nathan, not to insult your intelligence at all, but did you know that the two outermost long bolts are are longer than the others and must be reinstalled in the same holes or they will bottom out in any other? Just a thought - if you didn't know that already

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

yes Im aware of the long ones on the ends.I even checked all the bolts to see if they were bottoming out .Everything seems to be in the right place,with plenty of threads to spare.

55 fairlane gasser 312 /c4, 57 f100 292/c4, 52 mainline gasser 302/t10 4speed

The gaskets are laid down with no sealer,the threads are extremely clean,and lubed with assembly lube.Am i supposed to use sealer?they leak water into the oil,oil and filters are getting expensive.The last one blew the compression ring and stared idleing rough,and then started leaking water into one of cylinders.How did Ford get these things to be so relable?Did they use steel shim gaskets?I cant imagine replaceing head gaskets every few thousand miles?

55 fairlane gasser 312 /c4, 57 f100 292/c4, 52 mainline gasser 302/t10 4speed

on both of these engines the water temp never went over 190.This one in particular is in a truck that has a stock cam.I just cruise around in it never even revving past 4500 rpm.Im not even beating on this thing and it still blows head gaskets.??????please help i feel like im chasing my own tail!

55 fairlane gasser 312 /c4, 57 f100 292/c4, 52 mainline gasser 302/t10 4speed

I have never read anything about installing heads besides torque specs and tightening sequence. I do things the way I watched the old timers do 50 years ago. The only thing I do differently is run a bottom tap down each hole to make sure I have enough thread, I then install the bolts dry just like they come out of the parts tumbler, and then when I retorque them, I do not back them off. I use a tool actually designed for a Mercedes to reach around the rockers. I set my torque wrench at the desired reading and tighten them until it clicks and call it good. I drove a y block daily for 15 years including commuting to college 90 miles one way and replaced heads on various occasions and never recall a failure. I'm not sure I have ever seen any one back bolts off and then retorque them.

Kenneth

Fredricksburg, Texas

thanx for the reply.I wasnt sure if i was supposed to back off the bolts or not.An old mechanic told me to back off on them recently.I thought that sounded odd.All the water leaking started after the bolts were backed off.I drained all the water prior to re torqueing.I think loosening the bolts caused the water to leak?,I hope?Im hoping the water will stop leaking on its own.

55 fairlane gasser 312 /c4, 57 f100 292/c4, 52 mainline gasser 302/t10 4speed

I back off them just slightly and then re-torque. If done carefully, it will not leak. If you completely loosen the bolts and the gasket has no sealer, it will leak. It should be fine after the bolts are re-torqued. If you know a lot of coolant was lost, it will be a good idea to turn the engine over to get any coolant out of the cylinders and change the oil.



I've either read, heard, or imagined that ARP recommends loosening the bolts when performing a re-torque so that a false reading is not acquired by overcoming the friction to torque an already tight bolt. It's much more technical than that but it's the best I can do this time of night.


Lawrenceville, GA

yeah,I backed off them slightly and then re torqued.Im not getting any water in the cylinders,just the oil.

55 fairlane gasser 312 /c4, 57 f100 292/c4, 52 mainline gasser 302/t10 4speed

no cracks,the coolant seems to be getting pushed up to the push rod holes.the new Best gaskets dont have any material around the push rod holes.IT only leakes when its warmed up.this same thing happened on another engine.the heads were removed to investigate.no problem was found ,other than the water going into the push rod holes from the upper cooling passages.both engines are fresh with no cracks.the head gaskets are alwys installed with the word FRONT inthe front.the last set blew the compression ring first then started leaking water.

55 fairlane gasser 312 /c4, 57 f100 292/c4, 52 mainline gasser 302/t10 4speed