http://www.neverseezproducts.com/gasketmake.htm The right stuff gasket maker by permatex is by far the best sealer I have used. Cures very fast.It can be used every where except head gaskets(duh) and exhaust manifolds.It is used by manufactures on the assembly line. Some manufactires have even eliminated gaskets all together on oil pans/transmission gaskets by using this instead. I love it and it has never failed to seal a sealable surface since I started using it over 3 years ago. I still use the copper RTV Or orange for the really hot stuff....ie...exhuast manifold gaskets/head pipes. I'm not sure I would just use anti-seize as it may not seal the water/coolant from getting through, Anti-seize is not a sealant. The sealer should keep the bolts from rusting. I have seen many broken water pump bolts on ford small blocks. I use a welder to get them out most of the time. Some advice: I would coat the bolts in anti-seize down the shank as they do tend to rust up and get stuck in the water pump/timing covers holes and use the sealer at the end of the threads.
I'm going to get a set of stainless bolts for mine, that way with a little antisieze, they should never rust and break off....
No, I won't have any prblems with my super-rare unique 302 block that has no tapped holes into the coolant passages. For the record, I was asking what blocks have this condition, since obviously they all don't. Since you didn't have the answer, I guess you felt a sarcastic smart-a** remark was in order.
Clear silicone made by General Electric is the best gasket sealer you will ever buy. And for 4 bucks, you get an entire tube of it that fits in a caulking gun. I got tired of blowing exaust manifold gaskets. My dad suggested I use the GE clear silicone instead of a gasket, Lamar Walden recomended it to him years ago and he used it on his Comet. Guess what... it hasn't blown out after 4,000 miles on the super hot exaust manifold. It is made for sealing up household windows and doors, but it is just pure, straight, nasty silicone, not "watered down" like that RTV crap is, and will withstand temperatures way higher then it will ever see in an automotive application.
It wasn't meant to be a sarcastic smart alec remark - all four bolts that go through the waterpump, timing cover and into the block at the two places where water is transferred into the block go into the water jackets. This is true of the '66 289, both 73 302's and the 75 351W that I have. If your engine has those four bolts and they don't go into water jackets then you DO have a ONE-OF-A-Kind 302 block. These are the four inch long bolts at 3 and 9 oclock on the pump. Until now I thought you were joking - I didn't figure you were serious. Now that I know you were serious I have supplied the information. Perhaps a thicker skin would help - or just a clearer message that you are serious. My mistake - sorry.
leaky Some of the blocks had blind holes like the head bolts and the later ones don't. Saves a few pennies during mnufacture and thos epennies add up for the bean counters. Drain the coolant down from the radiator till it doesn't flow out that bolt hole with the bolt out. Then use a RTV sealer on the threads and bolt head and under the washer. It actually has to make a water seal it the block threads. But you also don't want it to rust to the block either. Even with the stainless bolts use a sealer to stop a l;eak and protect the threads.
That makes sense. The lower end of the later blocks ('78? on up) is much lighter in the main web area too. I have heard that they are 8 lbs. lighter than earlier ones, but haven't confirmed that.
I guess I have four of the rare blocks then - a 1966 289, 2 1973 302's and a 1975 351W. All of them have holes that protrude into the water jackets. The metal in that area on my blocks is just over 1/4" thick. I don't think you could put threads part way into metal that thin and get a mass production engin to hold a bolt. Maybe we are talking about different places?
Here is a picture showing the cast-in enclosure for the bolt hole (all of them are like this.) The holes are .835" deep and threaded all the way.
