On a late-model Atomic 4, 1963, that was recently purchased, liquid pools up around the spark plugs at the top of the engine. There's a shallow well, maybe 1/8" deep around the spark-plug's top that is exposed from the engine, and in that well, after a week of sitting, this clear liquid appears. There's rust in the well too, indicating that this probably has been there for a while. It tastes like sugar-water, not half bad mind you. I've read that antifreeze is sweet, which is why dogs lick it & die.
I suspected it was saltwater, because I left the stopcock open.
There's a lot of smoke that comes from the engine when its running. Stinks up the whole cabin all night. Seems like a strong engine that runs well, but I've been told that the previous owner took her out for a trip and had to be towed back do to a breakdown.
The anode in the coolant pipe was completely turned to salt. I replaced it. I may have damaged the big black pipe-thing that the anode was resting in, trying to chisel the salt that had replaced the anode out.
My guess, & I'm no expert, is that no one ever replaced the antifreeze, & it turned to acid & ate up the head-gasket. I've had this happen plenty of times with cars, cause I never changed the antifreeze enough.
However, the antifreeze in this engine is pristine looking. Green, no foul odors, looks great.
So, if this is the issue, can I quick-fix it by pouring some pepper into the antifreeze at the top of the black-pipe (I think it's called a heat-exchang?) Or, would it be better to buy a torque wrench, & peel the gasket off & put some liquid-gasket on there & reseal it? I've used some good stop-leak stuff before, Barr's makes some good stop-leak, but I'm not sure about doing this on a Atomic 4, or if this is even the problem. Antifreeze is supposed to show up in the oil w/ a head-gasket leak, not the spark-plugs, right?
1 more thing, where's the strainer for the water intake? I found the seacock, but I'm not sure what the strainer looks like. And how can you tell how much fuel is in the tank? Alberg 35
So, what's the quick solution here?
I suspected it was saltwater, because I left the stopcock open.
There's a lot of smoke that comes from the engine when its running. Stinks up the whole cabin all night. Seems like a strong engine that runs well, but I've been told that the previous owner took her out for a trip and had to be towed back do to a breakdown.
The anode in the coolant pipe was completely turned to salt. I replaced it. I may have damaged the big black pipe-thing that the anode was resting in, trying to chisel the salt that had replaced the anode out.
My guess, & I'm no expert, is that no one ever replaced the antifreeze, & it turned to acid & ate up the head-gasket. I've had this happen plenty of times with cars, cause I never changed the antifreeze enough.
However, the antifreeze in this engine is pristine looking. Green, no foul odors, looks great.
So, if this is the issue, can I quick-fix it by pouring some pepper into the antifreeze at the top of the black-pipe (I think it's called a heat-exchang?) Or, would it be better to buy a torque wrench, & peel the gasket off & put some liquid-gasket on there & reseal it? I've used some good stop-leak stuff before, Barr's makes some good stop-leak, but I'm not sure about doing this on a Atomic 4, or if this is even the problem. Antifreeze is supposed to show up in the oil w/ a head-gasket leak, not the spark-plugs, right?
1 more thing, where's the strainer for the water intake? I found the seacock, but I'm not sure what the strainer looks like. And how can you tell how much fuel is in the tank? Alberg 35
So, what's the quick solution here?
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