I made a rookie mistake put anti seize on my head bolts I asked an old timer with experience on Flatheads and he said use anti seize on bolts and thread sealant on studs. I was reading in a post and my green bible that i just got in the mail and apparently he was wrong. What should I do now. I haven't ran the motor in fact its still on the stand. should I pull the heads clean the threads and re-install with thread sealant. I think I should. Can I get away with reusing my head gaskets since the motor hasn't been ran? I have never been faced with this problem and I'm new to the flathead. please help.
I use thread sealant on all head bolts because if there are any cracks betwean the water passage and bolt holes they will seap coolant. Thread sealant stops this. If you change take them out one at a time and torque less than spec then retorque to standard torque in the proper sequence.
Just pull one bolt at a time and put Right Stuff gasket sealer on the threads and re install. The stuff is expensive but worth it….never leaks no matter what you put it on … even fuel.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'd run it as-is and see if any bolts leak. Then I'd put thread sealer on the leaky ones.
Its from Permatex …. I think most auto part stores carry it. Not sure if its meant for fuel but it stopped Stromberg float pin leaks for me and has always worked flawlessly on V8 head studs …. unlike a ton of other so called thread sealers iv tried. The main thing w flatheads is If the threads have been chased w a reg. tap they will be inclined to leak …. Stock bolt hole is cut for tight threads to seal better.
296 V8, Thanks! I built my 8BA some time ago and although I used thread sealer when installing stock heads I did have some weeping . I will shortly be installing aluminum heads and will use the Right Stuff. Ted
The best advice so far has been thread sealer but dont go nuts not to have applied this, Never seize is a filler so it may act as an anti-leak. Just start your engine let it warm up and cool down to cold and retorque the heads. Then run your engine like you normally would. If you have a bolt that is leaking you can then remove it and coat it with sealer and reinstall it. Remember this is a glorified lawn mower engine with multiple cylinders.
I remember a story from years ago, one guy said he never used all the bolts on his flat head, saved time when the head gaskets started leaking to pull the heads I remembered that and can't remember useful stuff