KING BEE
Member
I have a 69 Coronet 440 that was turned into a Super Bee clone before I bought the car.
This last winter I pulled the motor and did a complete rebuild. Along with alot of painting and replacing of parts. The motor is back in and the car runs great. But, here is my problem. I am losing about a half a gallon of anti-freeze every time that I drive it. I will drive the car for an hour or so and after the car cools down, I'm down about half a gallon.
I did have a slight leak coming from around the headers. I installed Hedman silver ceramic coated headers on the car after the rebuild. The leak I believe was from the header bolts. I pulled each header bolt and used a high temp red silicone on the threads. I also used a container of Barrs stop leak in the radiator. This was the recommendation from a local auto shop that also builds race motors. I have personally known the owners for over 40 years and I trust them. Even though I wasn't too keen on using the Barrs stop leak on a freshly built motor. Just my opinion though. But the leak did stop.
I changed the oil today. I am using Brad Penn 10w30 and the oil looks good. This is the first oil change since I installed the engine. I am getting whisps of white smoke from the exhaust. I had the car at my buddy's house who has been a mechanic for 30 years and he thinks that the anti-freeze may be being burnt off through the exhaust. My friends at the auto shop suggested doing a leak down test on the cylinders, which is my next step. FYI the oil level has not changed with the loss of all the coolant over the last two months or so. I have also seen a small amount of coolant on the floor under the car, but we're talking ounces not cups or quarts.
I have this gut feeling that the header bolts are allowing coolant to leak past the bolts through the header gaskets into the exhaust system. I was told today that the new header bolts may not be allowing the red high temp silicone to stick allowing the leak by. It was also suggested to use teflon pipe joint compound on the threads of the header bolts to seal the leak.
I'm not sure if the teflon pipe compound is able to handle the heat of the headers and the block. So that is one of my concerns.
My question is this, can I be going through a half gallon of coolant by burning it off through the exhaust via the above mentioned possible leak. AND if that leak is the issue, what can I use on the threads of the header bolts to stop the leak.
I know someone is going to ask if the engine is building enough pressure and I'm losing the coolant through the overflow. NO. I installed a 160 degree thermostat and the engine runs consistantly around 164 or 165 degrees. I also installed an overflow container (temporarily) and it is bone dry.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will upload a photo of the engine for your viewing pleasure.
THANKS
KING
This last winter I pulled the motor and did a complete rebuild. Along with alot of painting and replacing of parts. The motor is back in and the car runs great. But, here is my problem. I am losing about a half a gallon of anti-freeze every time that I drive it. I will drive the car for an hour or so and after the car cools down, I'm down about half a gallon.
I did have a slight leak coming from around the headers. I installed Hedman silver ceramic coated headers on the car after the rebuild. The leak I believe was from the header bolts. I pulled each header bolt and used a high temp red silicone on the threads. I also used a container of Barrs stop leak in the radiator. This was the recommendation from a local auto shop that also builds race motors. I have personally known the owners for over 40 years and I trust them. Even though I wasn't too keen on using the Barrs stop leak on a freshly built motor. Just my opinion though. But the leak did stop.
I changed the oil today. I am using Brad Penn 10w30 and the oil looks good. This is the first oil change since I installed the engine. I am getting whisps of white smoke from the exhaust. I had the car at my buddy's house who has been a mechanic for 30 years and he thinks that the anti-freeze may be being burnt off through the exhaust. My friends at the auto shop suggested doing a leak down test on the cylinders, which is my next step. FYI the oil level has not changed with the loss of all the coolant over the last two months or so. I have also seen a small amount of coolant on the floor under the car, but we're talking ounces not cups or quarts.
I have this gut feeling that the header bolts are allowing coolant to leak past the bolts through the header gaskets into the exhaust system. I was told today that the new header bolts may not be allowing the red high temp silicone to stick allowing the leak by. It was also suggested to use teflon pipe joint compound on the threads of the header bolts to seal the leak.
I'm not sure if the teflon pipe compound is able to handle the heat of the headers and the block. So that is one of my concerns.
My question is this, can I be going through a half gallon of coolant by burning it off through the exhaust via the above mentioned possible leak. AND if that leak is the issue, what can I use on the threads of the header bolts to stop the leak.
I know someone is going to ask if the engine is building enough pressure and I'm losing the coolant through the overflow. NO. I installed a 160 degree thermostat and the engine runs consistantly around 164 or 165 degrees. I also installed an overflow container (temporarily) and it is bone dry.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will upload a photo of the engine for your viewing pleasure.
THANKS
KING