Remember, I'm the guy with the foaming coolant. Well I took the heads off and found that the passenger side head gasket shows signs of coolant near the combustion chamber. The drivers side head gasket has a crisp edge around the coolant passages where as on the passenger side the edges are less distinct and in one case the coolant comes very close to the edge of the cylinder. It looks like the whole head wasn't torqued down properly. I check the heads and the block for flatness and they are both OK.

So now I'm ready to put the heads back on with new gaskets. Does anyone have any tips for this phase? The instruction that came with gasket set call for the long bolts to be torqued to 80 lb.ft and the short bolts 70 lb.ft which is slightly different than the ford manual I have. Comments? I have the regualar bolts (not torque to yield)...should I replace them as a matter of course?

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

 

Make sure you step-torque them first. Start out at 50 ft*lbs on the first one, then work around the tightening sequence and go up in intervals of 10 ft*lbs. I would recommend an assembly lube, not motor oil. A graphite assembly lube will ensure proper torque readings. I used the ARP Graphite-based stuff with my studs, and it said to only put 75 on the long ones and 70 on the short ones. The long ones meaning closest to the intake manifold. if you use any quality graphite based lube, coat the threads generously but not excessively, you should use 70 ft*lbs for lower (short) and 75 ft*lbs (long). The key to this is to run the engine for 30 minutes, then retorque everything back to spec. This will also depend on your choice of head gasket, the Fel-Pro Perma-Torque (eg. 1011-1 PT), is denoted by light/dark blue stripes, and they say retorqueing is not necessary, but it never hurts to check. So retorque the heads, then retorque the intake, and check the headers/manifolds while you're at it. I recommend the Fel-Pro 1011-2 for a replacement head gasket, they have silicone bosses around the water and oil passages, and a high-tension pressure ring to keep things sealed up real nice. They retail for $29.99 a piece through Jeg's.

'77 F100, 302 (the aftermarket Prodigy), C4
Cadet Second Lieutenant John F. Daly III
South Carolina Corps of Cadets, The Citadel
The TorqueKing