My Granddad was a master mechanic from way back and was the lead mechanic at the Ideal milk company truck shop and with shim type head gaskets always used a sealer with those. Of course, Cometic makes great gaskets and always follow the gasket maker's instructions but without instructions like that I would use a sealer. There again, with all the money spent on that build elsewhere, I would have stayed with a good well known maker for the head gaskets such as Cometic, Mahle, or Fel-Pro. Great job on the build, by the way.

When I have ever rebuilt a top-end I have never had it sealed right without using copper head gasket sealant that stuff is awesome

Glad to see you using sealers.In a perfect world they would not be needed but as you know life will bite you in the ass when you least expect it. You learn from what happened before so stock up on sealants it may be a pain to clean up but if everything goes as planned you will not have to do a clean up until the next rebuild or let the next guy worry about it. Put that shit on everything good luck.

Thank you so much! I noticed fizzing white on passenger side under head when I flushed the block. Save me time and energy. Here’s the part number for my 1971 Ford F-250 5.9 FE....Cylinder Head Gasket Ford FE 352/390/406/427/428 Cometic 245-C5835-030

Steel shim gaskets are fine on brand new blocks and heads or freshly decked surfaces, but not generally on regular rebuilds because they can't fill small gaps between surfaces. MLS gaskets (multi layer steel) or blue fel pro gaskets are what you use on rebuilds that don't have freshly decked surfaces because they do fill small gaps between surfaces. On ANY steel gaskets you should use Copper Coat on both sides if you want them to seal, and it is recommended by the companies that produce the gaskets. Copper coat is strong enough to pull the gasket apart layer by layer when removing head gaskets later, so it is generally good enough to use on all steel gaskets and some fiber gaskets. Fel Pro does not recommend that you use it on their gaskets, but I know mechanics that religiously use copper coat on them without any callbacks. You should also do a hot re-torque on all head bolts (even Fel Pro, although they say you don't need to).

I was feeling your pain there man. But you don’t have to maintain your composure for our sakes! It’s therapeutic if you throw a wrench on the floor or... kick a garbage can with all your might. we were all waitin for it but it never came! Let’s hope you got it this time. Can’t wait to hear it come to life!

Tech tip for you: Use come Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket for your intake gaskets for the fuel runners (top and bottom). Then use your Permatex gray or black for your water. Then when installing your gaskets use two spots of contact cement between your heads and gaskets to hold them in position during the instillation. Looks good buddy

I just left a comment on a previous video when you actually installed those gaskets. Now I watch this video and, exactly what I’ve seen before. The gaskets do not seal well unless the deck and block is brought to almost a polished finish. Composite is always a good safe way to go but they need to have a heat cycle so they adhere to both the block and head.

Good you caught/rectified it before you filled the engine fluid and had to clean up that mess.

Great ingenuity and persistence to pinpoint that down. A fresh head gasket, amazing.

Pressure check engine before putting back in the truck- Noted!! Thanks for taking the time to make this video series.

Had a 68 Ford pickup found it in a field I rebuilt the 390 Fe block but did not Mill the Heads or Deck the block ,I would always recommend decking the Block and Milling the heads I learned from blowing the head gaskets 3 times. And I manually put the manifold on and off each time you know how heavy that is you're using a crane

Cant wait to hear this truck run , and what ever else you do to it. Love your channel .

Watching the issues come up was gut wrenching but you solving it and having solid results was super satisfying. Nice job and thanks for the video!

Wow you earned that one! Yeah just say no to cork china rail gaskets... And apparently those aluminum head gaskets... I still love this build and thank you for your realism. I would of never expected that issue having never encountered it before. Engine looks good!

That pressure tester can’t pump enough air into that whole engine without coolant. Glad you found the problem with the head gaskets

Excellent series. Found you today. Just finished a marathon of your videos. Couldn't believe there was an air leak. Damn it, I didn't want to wait to see the resolution. Then bang...a new video. Awesome!

If you are having a problem sealing an engine try Copper Coat sprry. Been using it for years and it never lets me down. It's mainly for MC use but an engine is an engine lol. Had a Honda acura with a new head gasket that leaked and it really POD me off with leaking. so I used that Copper coat and put it back together and compression went up to 160 in all 4 cylinders. Been running for 4 years now and no problems.

Well done! Brings back lots of memories of my building years. Thanks much!

Total respect to you, your patience and skill!

Rob, you have the patience of Job my friend!

Good engines. 1 of the best engine for ever made. Cant wait hear how good it sounds . You take pride in your work. That's Awesome..

The reason why the head gasket coolant passages are either blocked or reduced in size within the gasket is to control and slow down the coolant as it circulates to better absorb heat. Using sealant around the water jackets on the intake manifold is ok. Not always necessary. But don't use it around the intake ports. Reason? Down the road the silicone has a tendency to break down and the vacuum within the runner can and may suck in some of that sealant creating a vacuum leak. As for using the end gaskets (china rail corks), to each his own. I use them sometimes and sometimes not. Depends on how the intake sits and the gap it leaves. If you do, yes they usually need a little trim-to-fit, that's normal. Dabs of sealer at the corners where the cork meets the intake gaskets is mandatory. If i don't use the end corks, I use a High Build sealant called 'Great Stuff' and run a 1/4"+ bead instead. Great video! I bet your getting real good at pulling this FE down as well as in and out of the truck! lol Think you got it this time, looking forward to the break in/running video!

🤔 this guy is definitely rich!..and smart! Nice Job!!

I Feel Your Pain :( I am a Female Feet Equipment Mechanic (Retired ) with 40 plus years of Experience, autos, truck, diesel and heavy equipment, Been There done that had Issues too, I learned to use Gasket Cinch Adhesive on one side of the gasket, on the side that is not contacting the engine Block and Silicon sealer on the other side of the gasket, this allows you to remove worn parts with out having to Scrape the Heck out of the block to get gaskets off, and the gasket stays with the worn out part, water pump, fuel pump etc, I put a little silicon Gasket sealer around all water ports, I also use Anti Seize on water hoses on the inside, just a little to prevent the rubber hoses from Vulcanizing on the metal fittings, works great, been doing that for 40 years with no issues, and Copper coat the head gaskets, a good 3 coats will do :) I enjoy your videos, Keep up the great work, Chellie

Bro I was screamin head gasket sooo loud in the vid before this. You didn't hear me tho. Sucks man. I feel your pain. It's a Ford though. It ain't right if it aint leakin

Great videos. Enjoy watching them and the claritY with which you present. Wish I had your workshop.

When using metal head gaskets spray coat them with aluminum paint that has actual aluminum particles in it..coat the intake gaskets with grease silicon the ends. No leaks. That's how a guy that worked for petty racing told me they did it .

Happy new year from England,keep up the good work its excellent viewing and very knowledgeable.

Never use steel gaskets with out a sealer like copper seal on them first. The Fel-pro works awesome on the FE.

Always resurface, use quality gaskets, (no cork ) junkyard parts are risky . Yeah, a lot of us learned the hard way too. Falls into you get what you pay for.

Love your videos! keep up the great content and hard work.

Man dude I love your work...keep up the great content

I like ur videos alot. I'm very familiar with the Ford FE engines & the 429/460 engines. I love working with them but u kinda got to learn as u go. Seems like u got good sence. U will get it running good I'm sure.

Good that you took the time to fix right. You won't be sorry and the engine lives longer too. I think its under control. One of the evac systems do the best check and won't break radiator. I like ford engines an they do hold over time. I know that some gaskets are wonky so I usually go felpro because of less problems. It should purr like tomcat in creamer.

I have used a threaded tire valve for test rigs. Napa has those 1/8 NPT schrader valves. Kopper-Kote spray (copper-cote?) was commonly us3d on single sheet metal gaskets when they were the norm.

We always sprayed copper coat on head gaskets.

Hehe i like this guy. Even when theyre major problems he keeps going

When you started the 'pulling the engine back out' sequence, you should have used the Benny Hill music.

And one would think that felpro would be the best way to go! Huh! I guess you learn something every day!

Great Job!!!

I felt your pain, I had 4 Fords with FE's one was even a Side oiler 427 and they were all a pain in the ass. I cursed the engineer who decided the intake manifold was also part of the cylinder heads, Without complaining too much there are lots of reason ford dropped the FE.

I would get rid of the copper gasoline line and get a proper steel line. The copper will fatigue and fail at the compression fittings and leave you stranded at a minimum, worst case; a failure would start a gasoline fire under the hood.

Exactly what happened to me. Fel-Pro multilayer head gaskets cured mine. Permatex or some kind of sealer around all the water pump and water openings on the intake and you will be good.

Dat Sux!!!! Stay positive!!

A four speed top loader would be a nice upgrade

think you got this time.... nice job...

You should NEVER use silicone sealant around the intake ports. It's gonna squish out and can get lodged in your valves. But other than that, definitely don't use those cork or rubber seals on the end walls of the lifter valley, just a nice bead of silicon there will do much better

Great video. Question, why block the front water passage?

you have to spray copper coat between the layers and both contact surfaces of those Cometics

exelent. desde argentina veo tus videos muy instructivos. yo estoy rectificando un v8 desde 0. gracias

The bitter bile taste of failure makes success taste even sweeter.

Git rid of those metal head gaskets get the fell pro gaskets

that really sucks to have to keep pulling off the intake and then take the whole engine out. what a pain.

Dont head gaskets have heat activated glue where you have to get motor hot to seal them

Use copper seal on head gaskets

what were the power adders you added? just headers, 4 BBL and intake? OR did you up the compresion somehow?

Have you decked the heads???

never use those front and back cork gaskets!!!!!

lol water passage gaskets are put on dry .. it will always leak if you do that

For the type of engine your building you should have used the blue Fel-Pro head gaskets you're the Ben lot better off also you have to do the pushrod tube to the old jacket coming up through the block oil Galley that feeds the heads to the Rock arms remember folks form a gasket is to be used only with non gasket assembly gaskets and former gasket do not mix your gaskets will turn to Mush later on

People don't understand. Installation of an iron FE intake is a two step process and takes two days.

Did you pre lube your head bolts before you torqued them?

Similar problems on my FE 428

What did you torque the heads to?

What a pain. At least it wasn't a cracked head or manifold. After your last video, I was betting on a crack on bottom side of manifold.

Did you deck the block and throw off the mating geometry between the block, heads, and manifold? Or decked the heads? This has to be compensated for, and FE motors are notorious for this. Bad engineering on Ford's part.

What city are you in ? I'm in Youngstown Ohio 330 area code

One step forward 6 step back! Sorry brother!

Who the heck rebuilt that engine

Bad Head Gaskets

Look at the bright side… you’ll get real Proficient in removal/installation of your engine.

I will never use felpro. They are garbage gaskets.

cut the radiator support arch the same width of the radiator and remove the grill and that engine slides right out and machine brackets to re install the radiator support arch. No more of that Up and Over 500 lb nonsense.

I know what the problem is...... it’s a Ford! 🤣