water leaking into the valve chamber thru a small hole in between the valve springs. I spoke to Ken at moyer he was very informative Ken recommended that I use a drill and a 1/8 npt tap then install a npt brass plug.he said I'll only get one shot at this, I'm posting this to see if anyone in the group has done this and if you have any advice
water in the oil
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Leak in valve chamber
In each of the 3 or 4 cases that we've seen these leaks ourselves, Universal had drilled and tapped the flaws to 1/4" NPT pipe threads and then installed an Allen headed plain steel pipe plug. The plugs failed by corroding through the end of the Allen headed recess. In each case, we were able to remove the pipe plug with a 1/4" Allen wrench and replace it with a brass plug. Don
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I dont remember a factory plug being in that location. I think that Don was talking about a flaw to an area of the block that should be solid steel. the fix is to turn the flaw into a threaded hole and putting a plug to it. Or I could be completely wrong.
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Leak from Univesal repair plug
vtbob, it's a little difficult to tell from your photo, but if that little hole is where you're seeing water come out, and it's in the center between the two center valve springs, then it could be the Universal repair plug that we've seen on rather rare occasions. If this is your case, I suggest probing a bit more in the center of what may be a 1/4" NPT pipe plug. Note that a hole for a 1/4" Allen wrench wouldn't be square but hexagonal. Don
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Don.
Can you explain further about this. I have never heard about this before. When you say it was a “flaw”, dose that mean a thin spot in the castings that tends to leak there or is it a designed plug there that has a flaw and needs to be fixed.
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Suspending cores in castings
In the 1970s, foundries suspended the inner cores that formed water jackets on what looked like safety wire. Since these wires extended out through the mold, these specific areas were reinforced with small round boss areas. You can see examples of 5 or 6 of these boss areas on the top of your cylinder head. When the alloy was poured into the mold, the safety wire became part of the alloy and essentially disappeared.
For whatever reason, in rare cases the suspension wire coming out through the very center of the back wall of the valve chamber would leave behind a tiny hole in the casting. In all the cases we've seen, maybe 4 or so in the last 30 years with about the same number being reported on the Forum, Universal drilled and tapped such a flaw to accommodate a 1/4" NPT flush pipe plug installed with a 1/4" Allen wrench. The quality of the rest of the casting was not adversely affected. The problem is that Universal used a plain steel pipe plug which corroded through at the end of the Allen wrench recess.
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Very informative
I don’t ever remember reading about that on any of these threads. Intersting. I wonder the amount of time people are trying to chase down water in the oil that it turns out to be this problem. Do you know tho quantity of blocks universal had to plug this way. I’ll have to look at mine and see now. Good to be made aware of. Thank again.
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Leak in center of valve chamber
vtbob,
Again, if this leak really is in the middle of the two center valve springs, then you're on the right track to drill the hole out and install a brass pipe plug. It may be the case that this wire exit point never leaked when Universal tested the block so they never installed a plug. It looks like an 1/8" NPT would be the best choice in this case. I would try to not penetrate deeper than 7/8" with drill bit or tap. Don
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thanks again, I bought the boat a couple of years ago with a leaky water pump. when I installed a new water pump I found a piece of impeller in the old pumps elbow.this year I bought a new carb and a oil pressure regulator. it's been running great. I hope the water in the engine didn't screw it up.
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