Cometics On Small Blocks

I put Edelbrocks back on after a trip to Shadydell (thanks again Ryan). All is well, but I am noticing some oil seepage at the backs of both heads from the Cometic gaskets. I sprayed them with copper as I was instructed. Is this normal? Does synthetic oil have anything to do with this?

There is no oil at the back of a SB head...Only oil a head gasket seals on a SB is where it comes up from cam to feed the rockers..... it's almost for sure a slight trail running down from the manifold (from a tiny leak at the rear valley wall) following contour of head gasket & running down & dripping off.

Hey Pete.. long time no talk to.. Hope all is well with you and yours..


The one thing I noticed with my Eddy's were the trail that Ryan mentioned.. I once has a small oil leak from the fuel pump block off plate that trailed the bottom side of the Eddys and dripped behind the oil filter..

So in your case, I would also look at the oil pressure sender and the back of the intake manifold..

Good luck to ya

It may be a trail as suggested, but I've also seen water and oil seepage that seems to be a product of design. It is usually more of a water issue, but I've found coolant tracks between they layers of multi-layer gaskets, as if the fire ring sealed, but there was not enough clamping pressure to seal the water jackets. That could alse be happening with the oil. Putting silicon on the gasket face didn't help, because it was seeping between the layers. We always use some form of stop-leak in engines that I assemble with a layered gasket which usually stops the water seepage. If you are actually getting oil seepage from the gasket, you may need to get sealer in between the layers.

True there are no ports in the rear section of the cylinder head gasket. That doesn't mean that oil is not there. Under hard acceleration you get a lot of oil at the rear of the heads and lifter valley. This is why you rarely leak at the front but can easily have leaks at the rear.

I always spread a skim of RTV on the end of the head gaskets where they run up the block towards the intake area. These leaks can be pesty.

Leon

Ryan - Sounds like a perfectly plausable scenerio, so I will have another look. Having had the trans out just a few weeks ago, I did not notice anything. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder.

Turned out to be the dist...

I thought I heard that Cometic doesn't recomend running their gaskets with Edelbrocks because of some alignment issues? Anyone heard that before, I think I heard that from Hughes.

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Turned out to be the dist...

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Congrats on the fix...