I started to put my head back on today and noticed something that I hadn't noticed the first time I assembled the engine. Three of the water jacket holes in the block and head are partially blocked by the head gasket. The the water jacket and head holes are round and instead of having round holes the gasket has very small slits that only allow a small amount of water to pass through. This is the gasket recommended by my engine builder. It's a Felpro gasket and right on the packaging it says it's for a 1970 440. Before I put the head back on I want to make sure that the gasket is correct and that these three water passages are supposed to be mostly blocked. I took and attached some pictures with the areas of concern circled.
Did you notice the lower holes are completely blocked too?
Normal, the top holes are basically bleed holes to release air/steam pockets, flow through the head & block is front to back, if those holes were wide open there wouldn't be any flow from the water pump to the rear cylinders....
Quote from: 1 Wild R/T on October 04, 2017, 11:16:40 AM
Did you notice the lower holes are completely blocked too?
Normal, the top holes are basically bleed holes to release air/steam pockets, flow through the head & block is front to back, if those holes were wide open there wouldn't be any flow from the water pump to the rear cylinders....
Thanks for the quick response 1 Wild R/T. :twothumbsup: No I hadn't noticed the lower holes being blocked. Shows how observant I am. :bricks: I thought it was probably normal but wanted to make sure before I put it all back together again.
Happy to help.. :bigthumb: