Holes in the Head

[peterw]

Hello All - need some help, again! So, I've purchased a new, late model head and was ready to throw it on over the gaskets I'd put in place and noticed that the holes in the gasket matched up with the holes in the block, but my head didn't have the same holes. I've attached a picture showing the bottom of the head next to the block. I've circled the areas of the head where the gasket and block have holes, but not the head. Seemed a little weird to me. The picture in the Online Catalog and my head look to be the same. Initially I thought I had a hole in my head and was seeing things, and then thought I had a bad head, but know I don't know. Why would we dead head a hole in the block at the head? If that were the intention, I'd think the gasket would be blanked off. That way there would be no possibility of a leak developing between the two gaskets. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!!

[Mo]

Where did you get that head?

[Loki9]

That's normal.

It seems that some of the coolant passages in the original design were later deemed unnecessary and were left out of the later head castings. Before your head was resurfaced, you would have been able to see slight depressions in the head where the coolant ports were "supposed to be."

One of our forum members even drilled those passages out on his late model A4's head. I don't know if he found any benefit.

[peterw]

Mo - it is a new Moyer Marine head.
Jeff - you're correct in that the old head does show a different surface finish where the gasket/block holes were covered. I just didn't know if the original head was correct. So thank you for the reply. I should just go ahead and install the new head and see what happens.
Regards,
Peter W

[ILikeRust]

One of our forum members even drilled those passages out on his late model A4's head.

What? What kind of bonehead would do something so absurd? I mean, really! Who could be so clueless?? I can't imagine anyone doing something so rash.

I don't know if he found any benefit.

He's still trying to figure that out himself. Currently, his engine is running warmer than he would like it to and he hasn't had enough time to get up to his boat and do some investigating as to why, but he has some ideas.

[peterw]

agghhhh, very good, nothing like first hand experience.

[sastanley]

So..did they stop casting the passages, or were these just holes drilled in the head to facilitate some heat transfer, but they aren't connected to any other passages??