Sounds like a query I had a few months ago that I called "the weep of
death". Your crack is probably not advanced enough to see antifreeze drip
out - just the release of steam after the cooling jacket gets pressurized.
This brings up two questions of my own:
1. Can this be fixed (welded) by a machine shop or must the head be replaced?
(this was never really answered during my post - a few people just opted to
replace the head).
2. What heads are compatible with what cars?
I have an extra head from an 18V engine, probably a '73. I've had it laying
around for about ten years so it will need to be cleaned up. However,
another lister in town was the one with the "weep of death", so I'll let
him have first grab if the 18V head can be used on the later 18G engine
('70). So the question remains - can it be used on an older engine?
If not, I may opt to sell it to someone else. I got it with a used engine
block about ten years ago - the block is now in my 71BGT with a different head,
David
At 11:21 AM 9/13/2000 -0400, Parenti, Mark wrote:
>I sent this earlier but didn't see it on the list so here it goes again -
>sorry if this is a repeat!!
>
>All,
>
>I've looked through the archive and I'm pretty sure I have a cracked head on
>my '77MGB. However, some of the symptoms aren't quite the same so I'd like
>to query the wisdom of the list to help me figure out if anything else may
>be wrong.
>
>As the car starts to warm up I get a bit of steam coming from just above the
>#2 sparkplug hole (second from the front). As the car further warms the
>steam gets much heavier. It certainly smells like coolant. So far, seems
>like a symptom for cracked head. The temperature gauge reads OK (although a
>little warm) and the electric fans come on at the expected temperature,
>however the head seems to be extremely hot. After shutting down the engine I
>get a lot of smoke coming off the head. I can't tell if this is steam coming
>from under the valve cover or simply smoke coming from burn off of oil
>residue around the valve cover. In addition, it appears that the solder for
>the neck on the top of the radiator has melted causing steam exiting from
>that area. All in all, seems to be extremely hot, even though both the gauge
>and the fan sensor seem to indicate normal operating temperatures. Could the
>cracked head somehow allow superheated steam into the cooling system?
>
>I'm hoping to be able to pick up a used head (anyone got one?) (though my
>son, who drives the car, really wants to do a V-8
>conversion :-). Any ideas as to what might be causing the "overheating"
>symptoms? Most of the discussion in the archive regarding cracked heads at
>the #2 cylinder seem to indicate the symptom as coolant dripping or leaking.
>I just get steam.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mark Parenti
>
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