John,
I'm certainly no expert in this arena, but I had the same problem with my
68 Buick GS400 and it turned out even though there was no water or oil
where they weren't supposed to be, both head were cracked in the front
cylinder from the water jacket to the valve. No, there wasn't any white
smoke either. I had the heads welded and also hardened seats in the
exhaust valves and valves ground while I had it out. I haven't had any
problems since. It was pricey, $200 per head, but I couldn't find the
correct high compression heads so that was my only choice. It has held up
for over a year and with some hard driving also. Just my experience.
Jim V.
58 GMC Suburban Carrier Pickup - V8 Automatic
At 04:54 PM 9/18/99 Saturday -0400, JAL12147@aol.com wrote:
>The last time I had the head off I compared the steam holes in the gasket,
>this time I used a Victor (NAPA), to the head, and the old gasket, a Fel-Pro.
> The holes line up with the gasket and it looks like they go into a water
>jacket. There was a difference between the Victor and Fel-Pro gaskets. The
>Victor had smaller water holes toward the front, even though the holes in the
>block and head were larger, the Fel-Pro gasket matched the size of the holes.
> I guess this restriction would force more water to the rear of the head.
>I've got a cooling system pressure tester. I remember now that the radiator
>came from Brother's, not Harmon's. If I pressurize the system to 18 lbs
>it'll fall to14 by morning. There is no white smoke from the exhaust and no
>coolant in the oil. I can't find a leak anyplace. When the thermostat is
>open and coolant is flowing there are bubbles.
>John Lazar
>oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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