Cooling system mystery solved ( I think)

[BigDog]

For those of you who were following my cooling system overheating problem, I think I found the problem....

Turns out I had a ziptie sandwitched between the head and the gasket. I'm surprised this thing was making compression at all in cyl #1. It's pretty funny to look at the gasket and head and wonder WTF happened here! The ziptie went from the cutting ring of the front cylinder to the front cover, barely into the cylinder, but enough to cause my problems. It's been that way since I put the head on a good number of years ago, I guess it finally got enough of the plastic melted...

What happened is that the ziptie created essentially a 1 way valve causing my compression to pressurize the cooling system. Also, turns out this was also probalby pressurizing the front cover and causing my oil leak. You'd not beleive how flat one of those "can" get when squished by the head!

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BigDog

'76 2002

[PSloan]

(nt)

[brad_c-ville_VA]

they old ziptie in the cylinder head trick, eh?

[Marty]

My Dad had a motorhome with a cummings m10 engine in it 450 hp and around a godzillion footpounds of torque that never had cooling problems even when I drove it across Montana in 110' weather at about 85to 90 mph, at 165k miles it started to weap from the waterpump at the shop when they pulled the pump they found a red shop rag rapped around the inpeller. The engine or cooling system had never been opened up so it must have been in there since the motor was built.

[Tommy]

How come nobody suggested that!?

Tommy

[Guest Anonymous]

hard to imagine how that gets there, did ya ask the po?

[BigDog]

Not sure how I missed that 6+ years ago when I put that head on the car...

D'OH!!!

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BigDog

'76 2002