I'm putting my o-ringed block together and was wondering is there anyting else i should know before i put my head on... I've heard that i should spray some copper gasket on both sides of the head gasket to make the o-rings flush. Anything else? Also will any 18 ga copper wire work?

One of my friends just put the head on his oringed block and didn't spray copper gasket and he had water leaking from between the head and block causing the car to run hotter than it should have been. Any professional help would be appreciated!!

-Russ

 

18 is fine but make sure its a soft copper, there are a few different types of copper wire some have clear coatings on them, I picked some up from ACE hrdware for $3 and worked for me. I also spray Copper Spray on both sides of HG. You should be gTg.

 

so are you guys just stripping this standard wire and using it in your block?

 

what do mean "stripping wire"? it comes on a roll, just bare copper...

 

I use heavy copper spray on all metal headgaskets

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ScottEK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so are you guys just stripping this standard wire and using it in your block?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No it is bare copper wire... as H20too said

 

sounds easy enough, i guess arp head studs are no question when it comes to doing this, huh?

 

i would anneal the copper wire to make it softer.

 

explain "anneal" please...

 

heat it up so the molecules are farther apart in the metal itself so its easier to work with, more ductile et cetera

this is usually done with a torch but i would put it in an oven or something so you dont get any residue on it

 

i beleive i can handle that, are gloves an option?

 

no you cant use gloves

 

just heat the wire evenly..usually right as it starts getting red, then dip it in water.

there will be a film on the copper that you can get off with some type of acid (cant remember what its called) or gently work it with some high grit sand paper...you can just leave it on as well i think. shouldnt matter.

if you search google you might come up with more info on annealing

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gritsak &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just heat the wire evenly..usually right as it starts getting red, then dip it in water.

there will be a film on the copper that you can get off with some type of acid (cant remember what its called) or gently work it with some high grit sand paper...you can just leave it on as well i think. shouldnt matter.

if you search google you might come up with more info on annealing</TD></TR></TABLE>

i wouldnt dip it in water, that'll quench temper the copper and make it harder but more brittle, and not as eay to work with...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Soccerking3000 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i wouldnt dip it in water, that'll quench temper the copper and make it harder but more brittle, and not as eay to work with...</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats how i did it for my block and it had no ill effects...the wire was still really malleable...but if thats the case probaby better to let it air cool just to be safe.

 

thats a much better idea, most metals will become more ductile when they are heated to just below their recrystalization temperature and allowed to normalize to room temperature. Here is a test i did last week on heat treatments/affects

 

Its good to cut a recever groove into the head so the the head gasket displaced by the o-ring has a place to go.

 

it's got a groove, you can't really o-ring a block without one...