Thread sealer is here.
Got some bodywork done in the meantime,...
Part of an email from another member:
"I tried a MLS gasket with not much success, and this is after having had the head decked. I suspect any imperfection makes it not good to use the MLS as the tolerances are too slight. That said, I think sometimes my issue is coolant getting in through the intake manifold seal rather than the head gasket. My block has a port at the back (by #4) for coolant to actuate a choke on the carb, yet my 32/36 DFEV carb has an electric choke and doesn't need a coolant line, so my intake is just closed where it meets the block. I suspect I may get some coolant seepage there that then gets drawn in along the #4 intake... My #4 plug always looks bad with a corroded tip/electrode and a greeny tinge after enough miles. So it may not have been the MLS gasket after all. In any event, I've gone back to a regular one.
Only once did I have the dreaded milky oil, knowing then that the head gasket had failed. The engine ran super-rough after that, probably because it was running only only 3 cylinders, and there was a huge amount of white smoke. Other times I can get just a puff know and again, and I suspect it's the intake, as mentioned earlier. Last season I bypassed the heater, used some head-gasket leak additive and it seemed to have ended any troubles. Last last season I drained the coolant and flushed the system, then reconnected the heater. All still seems okay. I have an unheated garage and we have very cold winters so an April start up is always a fingers crossed moment.
I also have used Allison's stud kit rather than the original block bolts. Apparently they give a better clamping force. I tapped the threads of the block and have had the studs in an out more than once. Once I forgot to include sealant for the bottom ends, so coolant bubbled up through the thread of the studs. One of those "Doh!" moments."
Devil's in the details,...!
