Yep, that’s where I was heading next (I thought you may have left the valve out), but I didn’t want to “insult” you. Larry, you really don’t know what you don’t know. If you “knew” rings weren’t the problem, why in the world would even suggest the oil test? Again, waste of time.
Because Bruce thought it might be rings. I suggested it because it was quick and easy. If his compression tester was working, he might have noticed a difference on some cylinders, or not. You didn't want to insult Bruce, but it was OK for me? Turns out Bruce's mistake was bigger than mine.
Hey Larry....mistakes are how we learn. I certainly learned a couple this time.....make sure you have gas in the tank and don't believe a Chinese compression tester.
Larry, sarcasm lost. You seem to be wound tight. Bruce, I have made more mistakes in 40 years under a hood than most and that I care to remember. But the bigger mistake is not remembering those mistakes and repeating them, which I have done also. There is much more “lost” from a professional standpoint when this happens than from a “hobbiest” standpoint.
Oof. The proverbial mechanic's rabbit hole, I've seen this happen thousands of times. A quick an easy reassurance while diagnosing a dead hole is to shoot an infrared thermometer at the exhaust ports. A cold, dead, "wife" hole is a quick way to figure out which cylinder is tbe problem
OK Bob, I'll unwind myself. Things get misinterpreted from behind a keyboard. I'm glad you admit you have made mistakes, and yes, I understand that time and mistakes is money lost in your profession.
Bruce.. you sure that is a steel shim gasket on there?? looks more like the thicker composition gaskets the factory used. If so, replace it with a Fel Pro blue. Ya.. after a while, you begin to not trust your testing tools.. Example.... Standard Operating procedure with a 12v test light is to check it across the battery first.. to make sure the light works. I can't tell you how many younger techs I ran across in my years in the service part of the industry, that skipped that simple test, and spent hours (or days) trying to figure out why a particular circuit was dead.. before they figure it out, or someone else tells them to check to see if the test light works. I would bet that I probably did it at one time, which burned that simple lesson into my head. If I got zero on a compression gauge, and the motor did not sound really weird turning it over, I would not trust the gauge.. but ya, that's hindsight... Always, when you have a hole with no compression, when the zero hole is on the compression upstroke, it will crank faster for that instant, because of no resistance against the starter. That's usually the indicator that you need to get the compression and leakage tools out.. Anyway, good lesson learned for you and other board members watching, kudos to you for admitting it... JW
Huh.. gasket looks white in the pics.. humor me and measure it.. My January 1 1971 revision parts book lists 1231778 as the 455 head gasket in 70 The 1236030 is listed as"Stage 2, HD" I won't swear to it, but I am pretty sure that steel shim gasket was an over the counter thing, for the HD parts program.. until 71... I rebuilt an original, untouched 70 Stage 1 here for a board member about 7-8 years ago, I will have to go see if I can find the pictures.. I remember something about head gaskets when I took that one apart. I think it was I was surprised to see they were not the steel shims gaskets I was expecting them to be. In 71, the 1236030 gasket is listed as "all Stage 1 and 2" so that could be where the confusion comes from. I am not going to sit here and swear that the 778 gasket was not a steel shim.. but if it is, then it begs the question "why two different gaskets in 70" Measuring the thickness of your old gasket will answer the question. Of course, if your hunting for a pair, to use the Steel shims in place of the factory comp gaskets, then that's fine, but I did not think you had the other head off it.. JW
Jim....That's the part number on it. I have one in stock to replace it. I like to spray with copper coat. Good idea?
I was rolling....head was still warm when I pulled it. Worst part was lifting head off and realizing no fender cover on my new paint job. Had to turn and walk toward front of car. At least not BBC iron heads!
Permatex Copper Spray Gasket has always been my go-to on steel shim head gaskets. Nothing else, the rest just dry & clean. Devon
At least you found out the trick from the Buick dealer worked! They must have beat the book on many engines!
Does anyone reuse intake valley pan gaskets? Was only on briefly...clean up and up the torque some on install or not worth it?
To me if your using Copper coat on a steel shim gasket it's to help with fluid sealing because your surface finish of the heads or block is not fine enough , but that being said the factory never used Copper coat on the motors they assembled with steel shim head gaskets. I think the real plus for using Copper coat on steel face gaskets is that it allows the head and block to expand and contract ( slide a bit ) without ripping up the gasket over time. Copper has decent lubrication properties due to it being a soft metal.
