Re: [HSS] How Much Leakage Is Too Much?

Unknown

Paul, as I mentioned earlier, my '28 essex has been blowing a slight

amount of oil out the side of the gasket for the last 15 years without

any problems. The thing to watch out for is if ther are any bubbles in

the water at the same time, as if it is blowing into the water jacket

then you are in real ttouble as this can oil up your radiator, and

possibly water can get into the oil. In my case it is obviously a very

small leakage out the side of the gasket where there is no adjacent

water hole, so there has been no problem. You must re-torque the head

when the engine is hot to allow for expansion of the studs and head when

hot. There are no specs given for torque of those old motors, but the

Hudson Jet uses 7/16 bolts for the head, and that specifies 75-80 lbs.

However, i doubt if the old Super Six studs are high tensile enough to

go up to that, so I definitely wouldn't go over 65 lbs for these. if

torquing down minimises the bubbling, and there is no sign of oil in

the water or vice versa then leave it alone and see what happens.

Incidentally, if anyone reading this is interested, I have come across a

supply of side-valve Super six head gaskets. These would be around

U.S.$75 each plus postage. Contact me if interested,

Geoff.