jphipps440

Do 97 4.6 2v head bolts need sealañt on them if so what kind. And should i use copper spray a gasket on the head gaskets. Thanks for any advise

raski

Only time you put sealant on them is if they are going into the coolant passage, otherwise you put some oil on them prior to torqueing.I use permetex 2 if the bolt is going into a water jacket.

jphipps440

how do i tell if head bolts go through coolant passage. So i put head gaskets on dry

DarrinT04

don't put the head gaskets on dry. what i do is smear some oil on the head, around the head bolt holes then put the gasket on over that smeared on oil

PerryB

1) Poke a piece of wire into the head bolt holes, if they have a bottom they are dry, aka blind holes. If they are open, the bolts need sealant. I'm almost certain they're dry holes. It's a good idea to run a bottoming tap or thread chaser into the holes and then blow them out so the threads are clean.

2) Head gaskets can be made of several different materials. Read the instructions that come with them. As a general rule, the composition type, which have a gray coating that feels like a mixture of graphite and hard wax, go on dry. Teflon coated gaskets go on dry. The older fiberous paper gaskets should get a couple coats of copper spray.

raski

Bad advice. Check with the gasket maker, I never heard of smearing oil on the surfaces.The only thing requiring oil will be the threads of the hopefully NEW, not reused headbolts.

jphipps440

Thanks for all of the information. I baught gasket kit and new head bolts. The gaskets are multi layered steel with black coating on them. Thanks again

jphipps440

How to retime 4.6 2v after rebuild. Heads are not bolted on block yet. And heads have been rebuilt.