With the exception of that corroded area, the head finish came out really nice. I still think that will be ok, but I want to check the gasket, head and block I have at home tonight before I say for sure. It sure is an ugly spot, though. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

I don't want to say it's ok without making sure you're not supposed to have a coolant passage at that spot in the head..... or that the gasket should not be punched for that opening.

I'll get back to you tonight.

Frank

I feel the same way. Why is there a block passage and gasket passage and no corresponding passage in the head? It's like the steam holes in an sbc 400ci head...

Had some success on the other projects today. Thanks Eddy for talking me thru that damn shifter. I was pretty sure I had it figured out, but it helps to hear first-hand experience. Because I hate taking stuff apart unnecessarily... I was too lazy to take the A/T cooler lines off, so I left the trans and t-case together and went out the front.







Again, thanks ya'll for taking my calls and offering your invaluable advice <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Yep - it may even contribute to blown head gaskets - but maybe not. Maybe it's designed to better transfer heat evenly over the length of the head.

Larry, here's a picture of the passenger side deck of an '89 3.0L with an OE gasket in place. Note the same holes are in the gasket as are in the deck:



Here's a picture of some '89 3.0L heads and you'll see there's no corresponding hole in the head:



What threw me off was the amount of etching - I've never seen it that bad on a 3.0L head. Here's a picture of my 3.0L heads after milling only a couple of thousandths:



I checked a set of '91 heads I recently pulled for future use and found they're etched even worse than yours in that area, so don't worry about it - you're good to go. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Frank

Thanks for the thorough research Frank. I'll charge ahead will all the projects at the same time now. I get bored with one task for too long so I have to keep several things going at once... Any tips on painting stuff like the block, heads, manifolds, and/or periphery? Mainly concerning masking and keeping paint off sealing areas are what I'm looking for...

My guess is that the hole is there for cleaning out casting sand and is core support when the block is made. That side of the head runs hotter since its on the exhaust side so corrosion is more likely.

Can you tell if the block is a siamesed? The siamesed blocks dont have a water space between the adjacent cylinder bores.

As an option the gasket is punched , just in case it was ever decided to use the hole for coolant flow. That way there is no need to track gasket versions and only a design change to the head would be needed to use that port.

Since its not in a critical area, as others have mentioned, its fine as is.

Before you start painting, you need to wash the block really well on the stand.

That set of heads (pictured) now on my engine was painted by the machine shop, but if they don't do it, I never do. If you want to paint yours, use hi-temp paint and just mask off the areas you don't want sprayed and don't load it up around the spark plug holes.

The block can be sprayed with any engine enamel. I don't mask anything, but rotate the engine on the stand and try to angle the spray so the decks and pan gasket surface don't get too much overspray. You'll need several coats of paint for the block and it will get into places where you don't want paint - but if you don't wait too long, a towel and acetone will remove it fairly easily with a bit of rubbing. After the paint dries, you'll want to chase every block hole with a tap.

Hi-temp brake caliper spray works well on brackets and the lower intake if you find the color you want. Exhaust manifolds need the really hi-temp paint, which will last for a while, but eventually burn off.

There are some specialty paints that will work better/last longer than anything I use, but I haven't tried them.

Frank

Kevin, the 3.0L blocks have 360? bore cooling - they're not siamesed blocks.

Frank

Well, it's seen a little action lately. No pictures yet though. Last 2 nights I've played pick-a-bolt and phone-a-friend trying to get the oil pump, pickup, and filter adapter on. Been quite frustrating. Thanks for the help identifying those bolts Frank, I owe ya <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

I've since come to the conclusion that I've lost at least 1 bolt. After several trips to the computer from the garage to get bolt dimensions, I got tired of trying to figure out which 1 it was. So, I just ordered them all for the pickup and the adapter.

After that, I had a little time to kill last night, so I figured I'd do something that I DID have the parts for. I was going to put in the freeze plugs. Boy, was I ever wrong. They were going in fine til the next to last one. It sunk a little deeper than I liked. So, I figured I'd knock it out and get another one at work. First tap with a screwdriver to knock it sideways, it drops all the way in and falls down to the bottom of the coolant passage taking up permanent residence as it would seem. I rotated the engine on the stand, tapping everywhere to see if it would come loose and move closer to where I could get at it. All to no avail. I'm tempted to leave it there, unless someone has a better idea...

And did I mention I'm using non-magnetic brass freeze plugs?

And my daughter's getting married Saturday...

I've had that happen while removing old ones. Don't leave it in there. You'll just have to be patient with a very long skinny screwdriver poked through the coolant holes and moved around until you find it. A flashlight shining through an adjacent deck hole will help you see it. It'll probably be wedged a little and you'll have to pry it until it comes loose - then rotate the block until you can see it, lift it to the bore and then grab it with vice grips to pull it out. Anything other than vice grips and you'll be sorry, because you'll probably lose it again.

It also may be necessary to remove more freeze plugs to get at the lost one. I know you don't want to pull more, but that's what may need to be done so you can lift with the screwdriver through one hole and grab the plug through the other.

Frank