Well I'm having a bit of an issue with my 1951 235. I finished up a basic "bandaid" overhaul back in December, and have drove the truck about 15 miles with about 45 minutes of idle time in the past few months. It's always ran fine with no issues.
Today I checked the oil and antifreeze...everything looked and smelt good (I always smell the oil in case gas gets in the crankcase). It fired right up and I took it for a drive, about 10 miles. When I got home I crawled underneath and saw a few drops of antifreeze clinging under the truck. I opened the radiator cap, and the antifreeze level looked a bit higher than it was before. I looked all around and concluded the antifreeze droplets were coming from the overflow tube. Whew! After a little bit the coolant level seemed to go back down a little bit, so I'm a little confused there (unless my eyes were just deceiving me).
Now the big kicker...there's a lot of what looks like copper flakes swirling around on the top of the antifreeze that have never been there before (even before I took it for a drive today they weren't there). The only thing I could think of is that came from the head gasket, which I used Permatex Copper Spray-a-gasket on, like I do on all of my head gaskets I install. I've never had an issue. Just spray it on, let it get a bit tacky, install, and torque the head down in increments.
A while back I did have an issue of antifreeze seeping out between the head and block on the right side of the engine (just a tiny weep...it never would run down the side of the block), but it's mostly stopped itself from leaking. What I can't figure out is why the flakes started showing up just now, and not before. I used the Copper Spray-a-Gasket on the head gasket, manifold gaskets, and carburetor base mounting gasket, but I can't see how the copper flakes from the gasket sealer are getting in the coolant. I'm beginning to get worried. I checked the oil again and it hadn't decreased or risen any, and is still clean.
I will try to upload a photo of what I'm seeing in the radiator in a little while.
Any advice appreciated!
