What kind of sealer/thread lock do you guys use on head bolts to prevent antifreeze from seeping up them? It's on an 8BA with aluminum heads if that matters.
Flathead blocks were (are) notorious for small cracks on the head surface, which makes coolant appear below head bolt heads and nuts/washers, even with 'sealed' studs. As some BBC guys have noted, even their ARP studs (properly sealed!) have leaked, the 'final' fix was #1 Permatex Aircraft Sealer, and when that wasn't conclusive, a small can of 'heavy duty block sealer' was added to coolant. That was the last word...there was some text, I followed it as a friend had trouble...turned out to be the solution.
Lock Tight blue or red is a super thread sealer , and will help hold studs in place if you need to remove the nuts for any reason .
The machinist that did the machine work and short block assembly on my 8ba recommended Permatex #2. Engine has about 5,000 miles on it with no issues.
Many times on a flathead the problem comes from the fact that Henry and friends used a slightly smaller tap in order to create an interference fit on the head studs (or bolts). Then along comes a machinist who in a rebuild chases out the threads with a normal tap, cutting just a few thousandsth larger hole. And then the leaks start. Most times then the solution is a new set of head studs or bolts from ARP or other supplier of quality fasteners, along with a good thread sealer/lubricant such as the one ARP markets.
The Jalopy Journal
