[C38] yikes!

[tdtron at earthlink.net]

It sounds like most of us have had an overheating problem at least once.  The good news is, our engines have cast iron heads and blocks.  Iron is a lousy metal in many ways but it has a very small heat expansion and it holds strength well at high temperatures making it a very forgiving metal for engines.

Since our cylinder head and block are both iron, they expand together which is why they seldom blow a head gasket.  With an aluminum head engine, the head will expand more than the block if the engine is severely overheated.  To make matters worse, aluminum is very weak after a rise of only about 500f causing warping and dimensional change and possible cracking.  

Even though our cast iron engines seldom blow a head gasket, the strain on head bolts is greater at high temps causing bolt stretching and it would probably be a good idea to re torque the head after a severe overheating condition just as a precaution.

I'm a retired Chrysler dealer and I found out about a little known trade secret of the "big three."

I've been retired for 12 years so I don't know if they still do it now, but GM, Ford and Chrysler would put Bar's radiator stop leak in their cars right off the assembly line just in case there was a scratched gasket, improperly machined gasket surface or other potential leak.  They figured it was cheaper to put the stop leak in than risk a blown gasket down the road causing an expensive warranty repair and a loss of consumer confidence with bad press.

With any "brand name" radiator stop leak you can buy some confidence that your gaskets will hold.  If you have a small gasket leak, you may be able to fix the gasket before it blows out if the leak is small enough.   

I have personally seen a case where a Chevy Citation (only car named after a traffic ticket)  that overheated and developed a very slow loss of coolant.  This car had an aluminum head.  It is rare to overheat an aluminum head engine without damaging the head gasket.  The head should have been removed, resurfaced, and a new head gasket installed but the owner didn't have the money for the repair so the head was just re torqued and a bottle of Bars fixed the head gasket and the owner continued to drive for at least a couple of years without problems before I lost contact with the individual. 

Tom Troncalli
 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Don Strong 
To: Catalina 38 Listserve
Sent: 6/13/2011 1:50:56 PM 
Subject: Re: [C38] yikes!


Max: Poor you. A cascade of unfortunate circumstances! Don

On 6/13/11 9:10 AM, Max Soto wrote: 

Yesterday  Estancia's engine suffered of extreme overheating due to a very awful chain of events... hard for me to believe that everything happened on the same trip, but they did..... 


1- a zip tie holding the engine harness broke
2-  the wires fell to the only part or the riser that wasn't protected
3-  few wires melted but I noticed it and stop more wire to be melted.
4- when they made ground I Iost one cockpit speaker and my temp meter, but since engine was ok, I though I could relie on the alarm for my way back home, after all, I have suffered overheating only once in 9 years...... What could go wrong this time???????? 
5- Then , ********the manifold  "radiator cap" base had a massive failure due to corrosion and separated from the manifold********
6- I installed an overheating alarm years ago, but is only a light, it has no buzzer...... since I'm always checking the temp constantly, I gave it some time to buy the buzzer...... ( that was kinda stupid mistake........)


When I smelled the coolant evaporating it was already too late, engine had spilled all the coolant and smoke was coming from all the engine, specially from the breathing hose from the valve cover... compression was coming out like I've never seen before, and now I know that the alarm can come on with just hot vapor.... I learned it the hard way........
I cooled down the engine, but still I'm suspecting a blown head gasket... now that manifold and head have to come out, the whole block is following them.... heavy corrosion have damaged the thermostat housing, the aluminum front engine cover and the oil filter base, so I have oil spills all over the place.........
Overhaul or engine replacement came on the last trip that I made before hauling the boat for complete peeling for a blister job.....  An I lucky or what?????????LOL...


Check out the pics.. Still don't know if the manifold can be repaired or if I should start looking for a new manifold.......or engine........
Regards,
-- 
Max Soto
C38 #198 ESTANCIA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica


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-- 
Donald R. Strong
Professor
Dept. of Evolution and Ecology
University of California, Davis 95616
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