SM Head Install... forgetting anything?

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Both gaskets were leaking, but drivers side was definitely worse. New gaskets both got a ring of copper rtv around all the header holes. I also put some copper rtv on the header to exhaust gaskets as well. Tomorrow will tell if I still have any exhaust leaks.... it says to wait 24hrs but it will be a touch under that when I start it tomorrow...

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DentalDart said:
No offense taken but the coupler has looked like that since I have owned it for almost 3 years. Not saying that is right just how it has been. I will work on trying to get those shoes all the way in the coupler body.
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I understand, but can you imagine how much dirt and grit have gotten in there? I'm sure it needs at least a rebuild kit if not a whole new coupler. It's supposed to be a sealed unit. @4spdragtop Steve is right though. Those caps are always problematic about staying on. There was a company that offered a kit with a one piece cap but I'll be damned if I can find it now.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I understand, but can you imagine how much dirt and grit have gotten in there? I'm sure it needs at least a rebuild kit if not a whole new coupler. It's supposed to be a sealed unit. @4spdragtop Steve is right though. Those caps are always problematic about staying on. There was a company that offered a kit with a one piece cap but I'll be damned if I can find it now.
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Oh I agree it should probably get a rebuild. But when I pull the steering shaft out I may as well replace it with a console shift shaft, new coupler and new ps box... Instead of "fixing" 1 little thing at a time, it would be more wise to fix it all.
 
DentalDart said:
Both gaskets were leaking, but drivers side was definitely worse. New gaskets both got a ring of copper rtv around all the header holes. I also put some copper rtv on the header to exhaust gaskets as well. Tomorrow will tell if I still have any exhaust leaks.... it says to wait 24hrs but it will be a touch under that when I start it tomorrow...

View attachment 1715896432

View attachment 1715896433
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Where’s the center gasket material between cylinders 3/5 and 2/4???? Were those like that OOTB? Besides that, those gaskets are no good for headers no matter if they came with the headers. Only the Garbage can.
 
Everything is buttoned back up. Car sounds amazing! It drives pretty dang good as well, lots of down low torque for tire spinning action.. I'll post up a video in a little bit. Thank you to everyone who hung out and helped me get all this done. Also thanks for identifying another problem my car has that I will get to fixing shortly.
 
The gaskets that were leaking are the style that come with gasket sets and are for cast iron manifolds only. Do not try to use those on any headers, as DentalDart already found out.
Also, the tiny roll pin or dowel pin in the steering coupler was for assembly purposes, to keep the coupler body from falling off the column before the column was installed in the vehicle at the assembly plant. If the shoes are sticking out of the coupler body like that, the steering shaft is working its way up the column, or somehow the large roll pin that keeps the coupler in place on the steering gear input shaft is missing and the coupler is sliding down onto the steering gear further. Either way, look into it before this comes apart and you lose steering.
 
Like post #209 said, hope that you did not use that style of gasket again, you need header gaskets. Haven't read all of the posts here, did anyone mention valve train geometry here?
 
DentalDart said:
Everything is buttoned back up. Car sounds amazing! It drives pretty dang good as well, lots of down low torque for tire spinning action.. I'll post up a video in a little bit. Thank you to everyone who hung out and helped me get all this done. Also thanks for identifying another problem my car has that I will get to fixing shortly.
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Awesum... always nice to get a project sorted... so you can move on to the next project... lol.
 
@74Scooter thats what it seemed like. The little shoes slid farther down the shaft into the coupler body. The pin hole pretty much looks the exact same as before.
 
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Nope, if those shoes can move in or out, there is a serious problem. The big pin, not the roll pin, goes through a hole in each shoe. They should not move. The red line points to the pin that goes through the shoe. If the shoes work their way up and out. The shaft may spin it the coupler. It seems like they slid the shoes into the coupler after the shaft was in it. Thats bad.
 
furrystump said:
View attachment 1715898128 Nope, if those shoes can move in or out, there is a serious problem. The big pin, not the roll pin, goes through a hole in each shoe. They should not move. The red line points to the pin that goes through the shoe. If the shoes work their way up and out. The shaft may spin it the coupler. It seems like they slid the shoes into the coupler after the shaft was in it. Thats bad.
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Or maybe the shaft is just that loose (where they slip together). Either way, it shouldn't be that easily "fixed."
 
iirc those shoes look to be 90 degs from how they go in the coupler. I remember it was a PITA doing it alone. Sliding the column in and not knocking the clip and shoes off.
 
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