Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 250 Head Gasket Replacement

I have a 250 Chevy race motor in a dirt car. I have zoomies on it. I am storing the car outside under a tarp. Last weekend, I fired her up and some water shot out of the pipes. She ran fine after that. I thought no big deal, some water got in the pipes from rain. However, I fired her up the other day after a long period of dry weather and got the same thing. So, I examine problem and see that I have a leak coming down the side of the block at the poitn where the head meets the block. I have the block ready to be removed. It got dark and I stopped for the night.
Can anybody tell me what to do with the rockers and push rods to get them back to where they need to be. I have never taken a head off. Finally, is there a better head gasket to go with? I bought the Fel-Pro 8006 P.T. My auto parts store had it in stock for 20 bucks. They didn't have the Felpro 1025 which was 3-5 days shippoing and 60 bucks. I'm dumber than sh*t on this stuff. Thanks.

edward_rohr@rge.com

For keeping the pushrods in order, take a small box about 6" deep and poke 12 small holes in a straight line. Put the #1 by the front hole and 12 by the last. When you pull the push rods put the very front one in hole 1 and just go down the line in order. For the rockers, just label them with a Magic Marker or tape 1 through 12 in the same order as the pushrods.

Once the head is off I would recommend having a machine shop magnaflux or sonic check for cracks, check it for flatness and possibly check the valves to make sure none were bent from hydraulic pressure.

Either of the two Fel-Pro gaskets will be OK. If I remember correctly, the more expensive of them has a coating of blue stuff that's supposed to help it seal better. If the mating surfaces are true and smooth, and the compression ratio isn't over about 12.5 to 1, then the regular gasket will probably work fine.

Do as Bruce suggested and take the head down to get it checked for cracks. If the engine was severely overheated on the track, there may be one or several cracks in the cast iron. The external leaks that you see between the head and block may be unimportant compared to what you find inside.

Besides, now that you are planning on taking the head off, you can finally figure out what your comp ratio is

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David
newbie #4153

Another you can for the lifters I have found Very handy Is a egg carton for the lifters. Which is nice you just close it up and everything stays nice an clean. You can also put a small in the top to hold the push rods Then set it all in a Plastic bag. Just be sure to number all the spots as you take them out Or Before hand. As for the gaskets They are both Blue in color I have both at this time. But the 1025 is the better of the two. Another gasket You may try to look fo ris a Detroit gasket. And the others said Check everything to make sure their NICE and Straight. Hope this helps }[oooooo]



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NovaMan/Twisted6/Larry