Well, I unbolted the header from the head, and sure enough, it is oily
inside of the exhaust port. I can only assume that the one exhaust valve
needs a new seal. This is a major blow to me because the engine has less
than 1200 miles on it since a rebuild (in 1984 though). I tightened the
header bolts better than they were, so hopefully that might help the
leaking onto the headers. However, I would like to try to seal that
valve without removing the head. It seems like such a waste to do all
that work for one leaky valve. Can anyone recommend a solution? Possibly
an oil additive or another alterative? Thanks
Scott
-----Original Message-----
From: Jen/Scott [mailto:jsloan798@earthlink.net]
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 10:15 PM
To: tigers@autox.team.net
Subject: Possible disaster???
Well it looks like I may have a dilemma in my project. It seems as
though there is a leak near the exhaust manifold on the drivers side. It
is a pretty slow and minor oil leak that leaks onto the header and I
have just noticed it tonight after a 15 min run. (longest yet) I am
confused as to where it is actually leaking though. It seems like it is
leaking from behind the front most exhaust port, but that should not be
leaking oil of course. I cannot see any oil from the front head bolt
suggesting maybe it is the head gasket, and it is not leaking from the
valve cover. I also checked the spark plug and that is not oily either.
This has me really confused and concerned. I figure worse case is a head
gasket though and I am not sure how easy it is to change them with the
engine in the car. I am sure it can be done but there has to be some
tricks. Except for this, there are no other indications that the head
gasket has any problems.
I have never changed a head gasket on a V-8 so I have some learning to
do and any tips are appreciated.
On a similar note, how can I get the headers off of the car? It looks
like the only possible way is to remove the engine mounts and lift the
engine up to clear the headers. Does this sound right? If I have to do
the gasket switch I might as well replace the headers since they are
pretty rusty.
Anyone have any comments? Thanks
Scott
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