MTFCA Forum

Hey All,

I just bought a project T from a museum (WAAAM) a running and driving T. well anyways, We finally got it off the trailer 2 days later and decided to start it up, so we did and it ran pretty rough, as expected. we drove it around the block to see if it was shifting and stopping correctly, witch it was. we took it for another ride a few hours later, and a few hundred feet from the house, it sputtered and tried to die, I didn't let it cause i knew it probably wasn't gonna start again, so i put it in neutral and played with the choke and fuel mixture, and it wasn't getting any better. it was popping and backfiring and throwing a fit, and so i almost floored the throttle, (witch didn't do much at all) and tried to go forward, but it kept trying to stall whenever i would push the clutch, so a major loss of power, well, anyway I eventually got it moving and in gear and just feathered it all the way home. i pulled into the driveway and a few hours later came out again. i was looking for anything unusual, and saw coolant leaking from in between the block and head at the front of the motor. I think I have a blown head gasket. any thoughts? is there a quick easy repair for until I have the time to change it?

Thanks,

carson

Check the oil and see if you have coolant in the oil. And if your pretty sure it has a blown head gasket and water is coming out between the block and head your going to have to pull off the head. No getting around that. Hope it’s not anything else and not some other issue.
You mentioned you bought the project T from a museum. Has the T been running recently before you bought it?

no, they had not run it in several months, and it took a lot to start the car this morning. I actually have replaced a gasket on my 24 touring before, so it should be a breeze this time. there is no coolant in the oil that I see, the oil is really dark and dirty and needs to be changed. I had my dad look at it and he said that's most likely what it is. it looks like it was leaking before based on water marks on the block.

Drain the radiator until you get a chance to work on it, so the coolant doesn't all seep into the engine and make a huge mess.

While you have the head off, check the valve motion. Sometimes valves/ lifters stick in the bores, or valve springs break.
While an engine sits, one or more valves are open. Add that to a leaky head, and it may have stuck/ corroded.

"is there a quick easy repair for until I have the time to change it?"

No.

Three of us once changed a head gasket on a 27 Fordor in 22 minutes on the side of the road.
We were on a tour with no back up trouble truck on our leg of a 250 mile run.
Roy Fulton's car started pouring out mountains of white "smoke" which was actually steam.
I had a spare gasket under my seat so we used Peter's cooler to catch the antifreeze and tore it apart.
Kristen and Rosalie timed us from the time of draining the antifreeze to startup.
It ran many years on that quick and dirty repair.
Harry

Wow Harry! That's impressive!

when you think about how simple the T is, it really makes sense.

Thanks for all your help guys

Be sure to check the surfaces of both block and head with a straight edge to be sure it is not warped nor eroded. If everything is smooth, try the head on without a gasket and put the bolts in and see if they bottom out before they contact the head.
It is a good idea to run a bottoming tap down the threads and blow out anything dirt which is in the bottom of the holes. If all the bolts can be turned (not tight) all the way down to the head, and the surfaces are straight, follow the instructions for tightening start in the center and work toward the front and back and side to side tightening them not all the way but just snug. Go through the sequence several times finally torque to about 50 ft lbs each by just a few foot pounds at a time until all are tightened down. fill it with plain water and change the oil. Start it up and run until it warms up. Then torque again when hot. If you have an aluminum head, do the same except let it cool down before you re-torque. After you run the car a while and torque again until it stays at the 50 ft lbs. Do not over torque or you could break off the bolts or crack the head. It is best to use new bolts unless they seem to be in very good condition. After you are sure there are no leaks, install the anti freeze mixture.
Norm

Norm always gives good, clearly stated advice. There are different versions of the tightening sequence. I think this is as good as any other.


While you're in there, make sure the little ¼" water holes in the block and head are clear.

It could be that the head hasn’t been off the engine in many years. Now would be the time to clean things up.
While you have the head off and have access to the block make sure all the water passages are clear. That includes the holes in the block and head.
Carefully clean them out the best you can as others in this thread have mentioned.

Also clean out the bolt holes in the block. Use an ice pick or small screwdriver and compressed air to remove all the caked in rust and dirt. There usually more in those holes than you think.

At first, I thought you were Mr. Mann. There is a Mr. Mann in the Las Vegas club. It is a very active club, and if you have not alread joined, I would recommend it.
Norm