Leaking head stud

[snydely87]

Hi all, someone will probably point to a million treads on this issue that I missed.......
I bought a freshly, never fired, rebuilt engine from a guy that I am now not able to contact because he is deceased, but what I paid was the value of the heads and intake alone.
I put the engine in, fired it up and broke in the cam, then took it for a ten mile cruise and it ran great. When I get back and shut her down I see water steaming off the header. It is coming from the outer front middle head ARP stud.
Is it possible to remove, reseal, and re-torque the stud and nut without worry?...... and if so, how should I do it?

Because the man is deceased I do not know what head gaskets were used although it seems no expense was spared on the way this engine was built. I am thinking that the stud turned during a re-torque and broke the seal of the sealant. No other leaks......

Thanks for any help!

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Drain the coolant down, pull and reseal...Not a problem.
These aren't Champion alum heads, w/ the logo on the side, are they?

 

[pacecarta]

drop a GM sealing tablet or two into the radiator . napa sells them on a card from bars leak for under 3 bucks for 8 tablets

if you have mls gaskets they should be retorqued anyway after fire up and a couple heat cycles

 

[snydely87]

Drain the coolant down, pull and reseal...Not a problem.
These aren't Champion alum heads, w/ the logo on the side, are they?

Thanks Chuck for the reply and advice.
No..... it has the cast iron champions on it.

 

[snydely87]

drop a GM sealing tablet or two into the radiator . napa sells them on a card from bars leak for under 3 bucks for 8 tablets

if you have mls gaskets they should be retorqued anyway after fire up and a couple heat cycles

Have you used the sealing tablet yourself pacecarta? I figured if I pulled the stud out and resealed I would do a re-torque on the heads after a few heat cycles just to make sure I had an even torque. I am worried about creating more leaks if a stud turns though..... maybe if I do I will try the tabs. Thank you for the input.

 

[pacecarta]

i always put the tabs in with cometic gaskets,
usually do first fire up on straight water with two tablets
sometimes i get the leaks (usually when installing gaskets dry ) but then they go away after a few minutes
run that around for a week or so and then drain and add coolant if your area needs it

 

[snydely87]

i always put the tabs in with cometic gaskets,
usually do first fire up on straight water with two tablets
sometimes i get the leaks (usually when installing gaskets dry ) but then they go away after a few minutes
run that around for a week or so and then drain and add coolant if your area needs it

I definitely need the antifreeze in the middle of Michigan! I would rather store the car in the living room somehow but the woman don't agree..... Ha!
I am 99% sure it has cometic gaskets. This is the first engine for a project I have NOT built myself. All other engines I put together were sbc anyway. I want to find a good buick guy somewhere in MI to rebuild my stocker to put back in the car. Nervous.....with a new engine I really don't know much about besides a few receipts.