I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

"stryped" wrote in message
...
I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

A machine shop can do this type of testing but they don't use rags. They
plug all the holes, pressurize with air and submerse the head in water and
look for bubbles.
Steve

"stryped" wrote in message
...
I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

Clean the head with cheap lacquer thinner (or equiv) and cover the head
gasket surface and water ports with duct tape.

Stand on end and fill slowly with water.

Besides the pressure check already mentioned, some shops do a less expensive
test with vacuum.

There is also a pink liquid penetrant, looks just like Pepto-Bismol, that
will seal those cracks. You fill the head, leave standing over night, drain
and air dry for 24 hours or bake. Kind of pricy if you are only doing one
head, but economical when recover and reused.

http://www.goodson.com/store/templat...a8b26191a07669

On Apr 22, 8:40*am, "Maxwell" wrote:
"stryped" wrote in message

...

I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

Clean the head with cheap lacquer thinner (or equiv) and cover the head
gasket surface and water ports with duct tape.

Stand on end and fill slowly with water.

Besides the pressure check already mentioned, some shops do a less expensive
test with vacuum.

There is also a pink liquid penetrant, looks just like Pepto-Bismol, that
will seal those cracks. You fill the head, leave standing over night, drain
and air dry for 24 hours or bake. Kind of pricy if you are only doing one
head, but economical when recover and reused.

http://www.goodson.com/store/templat...p?IID=5928&SID....

WOuld it be better to do the duct tape or to add pressure and stick it
in a tank.

Thanks guys for the duct tape idea!

On Apr 22, 8:11*am, stryped wrote:
I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

What is your time worth?

If it is worth anything, get it tested properly.

One only has to spend a hour or two messing around to pay for testing.

Many shops will do it for free.

TMT

On Apr 22, 11:00*am, Too_Many_Tools wrote:
On Apr 22, 8:11*am, stryped wrote:

I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

What is your time worth?

If it is worth anything, get it tested properly.

One only has to spend a hour or two messing around to pay for testing.

Many shops will do it for free.

TMT

I wish I could find one. It is 60 bucks around here.

"stryped" wrote in message
...


WOuld it be better to do the duct tape or to add pressure and stick it
in a tank.

Thanks guys for the duct tape idea!

------------------------------------------------------------

Hard to say, it depends on your particular leak, so I guess you could say
pressure is better, but just seldom actually necessary. I think most (but
not all) cracks will leak standing water if they leak at all. But again not
always.

But the duct tape and standing water is just something easy to do at home.
You have to have some pretty substantial block off plates to add pressure,
and a large enough dip tank if you care where the leak is coming from. Keep
in mind, most shops don't care where a leak is, to them any leak scraps the
head no mater where it is located.

"stryped" wrote in message
...

What is your time worth?

If it is worth anything, get it tested properly.

One only has to spend a hour or two messing around to pay for testing.

Many shops will do it for free.

TMT

I wish I could find one. It is 60 bucks around here.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Have you called more than one shop? It can be well worth the drive.

Seal the openings, dry the head thoroughly and fill with kerosene. This is
the best way to find cracks with a liquid.

Melt some wax appx. size of the round openings, freeze the wax and screw the
wax plugs into the openings quickly.


j/b


"stryped" wrote in message
...
I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:11:05 -0700 (PDT), stryped
wrote:

I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

You can clean the head real well and then spray on a coat of thinned
oil - diesel will work. Wait a bit and then wipe all the oil off and
then sprinkle powdered chalk all over the head. If there is a crack
the oil will leach out of the crack and the chalk powder will adhere
to the outline of the crack and darken.


Or you can but a "dye check kit" and do it the modern way.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

"stryped" wrote in message
...
I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?
The surface tension of water makes it less likely to leak through a small
crack. Kerosene will often do better or a little soap in the water might
work.

I have taped up the ports and pressurized with the outlet of a vacuum
cleaner or an air blow gun to find some leaks. Just a little air pressure
and some kid's bubble solution seems to work pretty good for me sometimes.

It is very controversial but Bars Leaks or other sealers sometime work well.

Don Young

"Bruce In Bangkok" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:11:05 -0700 (PDT), stryped
wrote:

I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

You can clean the head real well and then spray on a coat of thinned
oil - diesel will work. Wait a bit and then wipe all the oil off and
then sprinkle powdered chalk all over the head. If there is a crack
the oil will leach out of the crack and the chalk powder will adhere
to the outline of the crack and darken.


Or you can but a "dye check kit" and do it the modern way.


That still won't tell him if the crack leaks water.

On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:54:03 -0500, "Tim" wrote:


"Bruce In Bangkok" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:11:05 -0700 (PDT), stryped
wrote:

I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

You can clean the head real well and then spray on a coat of thinned
oil - diesel will work. Wait a bit and then wipe all the oil off and
then sprinkle powdered chalk all over the head. If there is a crack
the oil will leach out of the crack and the chalk powder will adhere
to the outline of the crack and darken.


Or you can but a "dye check kit" and do it the modern way.


That still won't tell him if the crack leaks water.

True, but then again if there is a crack and it doesn't leak HE
probably doesn't care about it.....
Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

On Apr 22, 8:52*pm, "Don Young" wrote:
"stryped" wrote in message

...I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

The surface tension of water makes it less likely to leak through a small
crack. Kerosene will often do better or a little soap in the water might
work.

I have taped up the ports and pressurized with the outlet of a vacuum
cleaner or an air blow gun to find some leaks. Just a little air pressure
and some kid's bubble solution seems to work pretty good for me sometimes..

It is very controversial but Bars Leaks or other sealers sometime work well.

Don Young

Would it be better to plug the ports, pressurize with air compresser,
then dip in a tank of water and watch for bubbles? Or To plug the
ports, pressurize and spray saop and water on the head?

When you talked about using a bubble solution I was not sure if you
meant inside of the head or on the head.

On Apr 22, 12:47*pm, "Maxwell" wrote:
"stryped" wrote in message

...



What is your time worth?

If it is worth anything, get it tested properly.

One only has to spend a hour or two messing around to pay for testing.

Many shops will do it for free.

TMT

I wish I could find one. It is 60 bucks around here.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Have you called more than one shop? It can be well worth the drive.

Called several. I guess nothing in life is free.

"stryped" wrote in message
...
On Apr 22, 12:47 pm, "Maxwell" wrote:
"stryped" wrote in message

...



What is your time worth?

If it is worth anything, get it tested properly.

One only has to spend a hour or two messing around to pay for testing.

Many shops will do it for free.

TMT

I wish I could find one. It is 60 bucks around here.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Have you called more than one shop? It can be well worth the drive.

Called several. I guess nothing in life is free.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You couldn't find anyone to vacuum check it for less than $60?

On Apr 23, 11:37*am, "Tim" wrote:
"stryped" wrote in message

...
On Apr 22, 12:47 pm, "Maxwell" wrote:





"stryped" wrote in message

....

What is your time worth?

If it is worth anything, get it tested properly.

One only has to spend a hour or two messing around to pay for testing..

Many shops will do it for free.

TMT

I wish I could find one. It is 60 bucks around here.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Have you called more than one shop? It can be well worth the drive.

Called several. I guess nothing in life is free.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------*---

You couldn't find anyone to vacuum check it for less than $60?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

No one around here even does vaccum check. Almost 100% do only
magnaflux. Only 2 shops pressure check. ( I live in a relatively small
area.)

"stryped" wrote in message
...


- Show quoted text -

No one around here even does vaccum check. Almost 100% do only
magnaflux. Only 2 shops pressure check. ( I live in a relatively small
area.)

---------------------------------------------------------

Bummer, did you try the duct tape and water?

"stryped" wrote in message
...
On Apr 22, 8:52 pm, "Don Young" wrote:
"stryped" wrote in message

...I
got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

The surface tension of water makes it less likely to leak through a small
crack. Kerosene will often do better or a little soap in the water might
work.

I have taped up the ports and pressurized with the outlet of a vacuum
cleaner or an air blow gun to find some leaks. Just a little air pressure
and some kid's bubble solution seems to work pretty good for me sometimes.

It is very controversial but Bars Leaks or other sealers sometime work
well.

Don Young

Would it be better to plug the ports, pressurize with air compresser,
then dip in a tank of water and watch for bubbles? Or To plug the
ports, pressurize and spray saop and water on the head?

When you talked about using a bubble solution I was not sure if you
meant inside of the head or on the head.
To me, the easiest way is to turn the head upside down so that the bubble
solution will pool around the suspected crack area in the combustion
chamber. You only need a thin layer. Then stick the vacuum hose or blowgun
into a coolant port and blow as much pressure into it as you can reasonably
manage, just holding the hose with a rag around it or something similar. It
doesn't take much pressure to make bubbles.

This is not a 100% sure method because there are cracks that leak only under
high pressure or temperature but I have found it to be very useful and it's
cheap enough.

Don Young

On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:11:05 -0700 (PDT), stryped
wrote:

I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

Back in the 70s, we used to check for cracks in Harley heads by
degreasing the part as well as we could, then leaving them in a warm
place (dashboard in the sun usually worked) for a day or so. Removed
the part, then dusted them with talc (chalk, as mentioned earlier,
would also work, I suppose).

Any oil that seeped into a crack would remain behind after the
degreasing, and would exude out enough to show up using this method.
We called it "the poor man's magnafluxing".

Of course, if the crack in question was in a water jacket area (no
oil), you probably would just have to air dry the head for a couple of
hours, and then dust it. I don't know how well it would work in that
case, though.

Just random thoughts escaping...

Joe

On Apr 23, 11:37*am, "Tim" wrote:
"stryped" wrote in message

...
On Apr 22, 12:47 pm, "Maxwell" wrote:



"stryped" wrote in message

....

What is your time worth?

If it is worth anything, get it tested properly.

One only has to spend a hour or two messing around to pay for testing..

Many shops will do it for free.

TMT

I wish I could find one. It is 60 bucks around here.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Have you called more than one shop? It can be well worth the drive.

Called several. I guess nothing in life is free.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You couldn't find anyone to vacuum check it for less than $60?

Is your time free?

TMT

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You couldn't find anyone to vacuum check it for less than $60?

Is your time free?

----------------------------------------------------

It takes less than 5 minutes to vacuum check a head. Do you think $720 an
hour is reasonable?

On Apr 24, 1:19*pm, "Tim" wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message

...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You couldn't find anyone to vacuum check it for less than $60?

Is your time free?

----------------------------------------------------

It takes less than 5 minutes to vacuum check a head. Do you think $720 an
hour is reasonable?

My comment was not intended to be an insult.

In my case yes, $720/hr is reasonable for the task accomplished.

My time is not free.

I wish it were an unlimited resource...I would use it far differently
than how I do now.

Each case is unique....an example.

Recently I had to pay to have a tire repaired. Over my lifetime I have
likely repaired hundreds of tires and know how to do it quickly and
efficiently. In the particular situation that I found myself in, I was
overjoyed to have someone available to fix the tire while I attended
to much more pressing matters with a drop dead deadline. And to add
some details, a deck screw was clearly visible in the face of the
tire. When it was repaired it turns out that the deck screw (the
"obvious" problem) was just a head of the screw that had lodged in the
tread. The real problem was a very slowly leaking tire bead/rim
interface that yours truly had scuffed against a curb the day before.
In this particular case, the time to track down the problem in the
time and with the resources available would have been a "pound wise,
penny foolish" judgment call on my part.

There are times that you simply write the check and get on with life.

A suggestion...if you think checking heads is a money maker then I
recommend setting up the fixture and have at it. If you charge $10
less an hour, you will likely have all the business you can do at $710/
hr.

Isn't this a great Country or what? ;)

TMT

On Apr 22, 8:11*am, stryped wrote:
I got to thinking, I know this is a "red neck" way of doing this but
if a person wanted to see if a crack in a head (like my old heads) was
a "functional" leak, would it be possible to somehow plug the coolant
ports in the head with some material like stuffing parts of a rag or
something in there, filling the head partially with water, paint
thiner, etc, and introducing compressed air into a port to see if a
crack between the valves leaked? I just got to thinking about that
last night. I am not going to re use these heads but wondered if it
would work?

It is sounding like you got a set of free heads and are looking to
Ebay them...am I right?

TMT

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
...

Sorry, but $60 to even pressure check a head, which is the most expensive
method, is completely ridiculous.

On Apr 24, 5:00*pm, "Tim" wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message

...

Sorry, but $60 to even pressure check a head, which is the most expensive
method, is completely ridiculous.

I understand.

Sometimes you sign the check and sometimes you walk away.

TMT