Engine: 66 283 Daytona

[dangrdan]

I removed one of the heads (for another reason) and discovered the #8 cylinder was 1/2 full of coolant. To my knowledge, the only way this could happen is from a blown head gasket. The engine was recently rebuilt and the gasket was brand new. Also, inspecting the head and the block with a magnifying glass revealed no cracks in either. Also, there was no obvious visible 'trail' on the gasket itself to indicate the pathway. However, I replaced the gasket with a new one and put it all back together. Like I said, the engine was recently overhauled but I had done some cranking of the engine before removing the head.


Now I am wondering if maybe the coolant got into the cylinder some other way? One other possibility of course would be if I did not torque the head bolts correctly but when I removed them, they were all equally tight and I was very careful to follow the correct torquing sequence when I put it together. None of the other cylinders had coolant and the oil is not cloudy at all - apparently the new rings did a good job and held the fluid in the cylinder.

If there was some other reason this happened, pls let me know. Also, I am not planning to remove the other head unless someone has a reason to do that. Thanks for any help.

[oldtimer2]

Be sure to change your oil before trying to start engine after replacing head. reason? - coolant probably did get into oil. Also, cheap insurance to protect bearings.

[TWChamp]

Remove the 4 spark plugs in the other head and have someone spin it over while you watch for coolant out any of the holes.
If none comes out, then I wouldn't remove it either, but would recheck the head bolt torque.
I always use Copper-Coat on both sides of the head gasket, even gaskets that have "Print-O-Seal" silicone lines and say "Use No Sealer".

[doofus]

This would be normal if you only drained radiator,the block and heads would still be full of coolant. once head is loosened,coolant pours into cylinder. Follow twchamps advice here and Happy Studebakering. Doofus

[sweetolbob]

Put a straight edge on the block and heads to see if they are out of parallel. Don't kid yourself, if one side was not done properly or the bolts were loose, it's hard to imagine the other side is not close to the same issue. Pull the other head and look around. It's easier now than after you button up the engine and find coolant in the other side.

If nothing else, I'd want a look around and replace the head gasket. Good luck.

Bob

[Jeffry Cassel]

Might have been a good idea to have had the head magnafluxed before re-installing it. Why did you remove it? I am guessing some antifreeze leaked out of the head into the cylinder as you removed it. The other thing it would have been worth while to do is by placing it on a machined surface check the head to be sure it is not warped. If there is any coolant in a cylinder you may notice a puff on white smoke when you first start the engine. Be sure there is NO antifreeze in the crankcase; it will ruin bearings jiffy-quick.

[Mike Sal]

Are you sure it's just not a case of you didn't have all of the coolant drained out & when you started to lift the head the coolant drained into the cylinder? I've seen it happen before.
Mike Sal

[RadioRoy]

Were the cylinders and head space sparkly clean in one cylinder? Coolant leaking into a cylinder on an otherwise operating engine will make it clean.

If that cylinder was as dirty as the rest, the same level of dirtiness, then the coolant probably got into it during the head removal process.

[wittsend]

The engines in these Studebaker's with the broke-back driveshaft tilt quite a bit. Given it was the rear cylinder where the coolant is found I'd be inclined to think it was just residual coolant in the engine. It might have been in a trough in the head and lifting/tilting to remove the head caused it to run out of the head into the cylinder. What does the spark plug in #8 look like? And if you don't know which one it is, does any plug look different from the other. You didn't state, but the post somewhat implies that the engine was not run yet. Is that the case? If the head bolts were tight and there was a real leak the only way other than a warped head/bad gasket would be the head bolts are too long and bottoming in the block before they clamp the head.

Frankly that much coolant and the engine could have hydro-locked. If there was no coolant smoke, leaks etc. For what "another reason" did you pull the head? Letting it be know might help solve the mystery. Still my money is on residual coolant based on everything you've said and perhaps there is no real problem.