Here is the quick story...... Driving down Ward Parkway here in Kansas City on my way to the Plaza to pick up some coin that a buddy owes me and I see on a side street an ole' timer that lives in the area broke down on a side street with the hood up on a 40' Ford Convertible. So, I would have stopped but I need to pick up some coin and I would be right back. I stopped back by and the guy (in his late 80's) was getting ready to jump start the ole' Flathead..........whoa.....6 volt....but then I remembered that his son told me that they switched it over to 12 volt......ok......so I asked what was the problem?......well the ole' car just stopped running and the person helping mentioned that they put over 3 1/2 gallons of water in the motor. It is a "Merc" that he had installed in the 50's and would get a little hot every now and then. So the motor fired up on the first crank (yep, it is a flathead), but it was pretty much pouring water out of the p***enger side exhaust and there was a little steam coming from the drivers side.........so I talked him into to driving the ole' gal home and I would give him a ride down to mid-town in Kansas City to run an errand. But, I followed him all the way home (about 15 blocks) and when he would stop water would dump out the p***enger side exhaust and then she was smoking a little, not a lot and knocking when we were closer to his house. I know that it got HOT!!! and boiled, because after an hour of sitting there I could still hear the motor........not that it is funny, but this guy said "I need to put one of those darn' small blocks in it". So, my question is: Cracked block? I think so....... Blown head gasket? Hmmmm..... The hose out of the drivers side was pinched also. Thanks for your help......I told the ole' guy that I would stop by on Saturday and let him know what the "HAMB" mentioned. Chris Nelson Oh yea, here is the car.........
You should set him up with Tim's flat head, or i will come and take that old ford off his hands. jeff
Could be blown head gasket. Could be cracked block, typically between head bolt and water jacket or around exhaust valves. Won't know without pulling head on that side. Pinched hose would indicate piston was pulling water into cylinder. If it was a blown head gasket, that would be likely.
Hard to say for sure without pulling the heads, but it sounds like it is probably more than a head gasket.
Yea, I am pretty sure that it is not a head gasket. There are no leaks around the head, but I did not know what was inside. Yea, this ****er was pushing water out of the exhaust after he fired it up. And following him home I felt like telling the guy to pull over and I will call in triple A to haul his car home for the nice ole' guy. Oh yea, and the guy told me that he had never ridden in a "Volvo" before..........haha......pretty nice car is what he told me. Shhh... the wife is outta' town. Chris
Head gaskets blow cylinder to cylinder, cylinder to water jacket, or cylinder to external of the motor (sounds like an exhaust leak). Cyl. to Cyl. sounds like it's running on 6cylinders... and missing really badly. Cylinder to water jacket can be deceiving... dropped cylinder, but not showing any signs of water losage (except in the the radiator), and burns all the water and just overheats. Or, it can be severe and dump all your water out your exhaust. Either way, head has to come off. At least you (he) knows what side it is. Just because it's a flatty I wouldn't suspect a cracked motor right off the bat. I'd bet corrosion got to the head bolts/head gasket and it found away to release the cylinder pressure. Alec.
Alec, Thanks. I am going to stop by his place this morning and see if I can help him out. Chris Nelson
In the last picture, that lower heater hose looks kinked, or is it just the angle of the photo. Could that be part of the problem?
My Ford had a cracked block, right between the valve ports on front cylinder, on the right bank. I water gl***ed it and ran it hard for 4-5 years with no problems until last summer. I drove it 250 miles and it drank 30 gallons of water . I decided I'd had enough, I 'fixed' it! I would say that if he's having the trouble you are describing and if it got as hot as you say, the ole '40 may have a similar fate ahead of it. I have seen flatties survive some m***ive problems and bounce back as if it were no more than a hiccup, but damn, a late drivetrain is great!! J
Use a pressure tester, just pump it up and chances are real good with that bad of leak you will find it quickly.... Pull the spark plugs to see if its filling up a cylinder. You could also use a leak down tester to get a few more clues... Or do it the easy way and have him sell it to me , I'm local...
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