No Water in Front Coolant Ports on Heads

so i was having problems with pressure build ups in my coolant system. it would warm up and pressure builds in the hoses and the radiator, alot of pressure. and when it all gets complletely cold and i pop the radiator cap pressure releases and i can hear water flow. and i pulled the intake to pull my cam and the front coolant passages are bone dry, both of them. the rears were wet. whats going on? i have a 1985 mustang 5.0 btw. thanks for any help...

 

Did you recently replace the head gaskets?

 

yes i did... im gonna guess that you think i put them on backwards? i agree i might have lol. is there a way i can check without pulling the heads?

 

They both say "front" embossed on the head gasket. One gasket looks like it's right side up and the other will look upside down. If yours looked the same when you put the heads on, it's wrong. I know of no way to tell without pulling the heads.

SPark

 

If you are running fel-pro replacement gaskets you can tell if they're on the right way with the heads on by looking at the front corners of the heads. The gaskets will have corners sticking out.
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Yeah they both do stick out

 

X 2 on this.

 

I never worried about checking it so I didn't know that. I just put them on correct and forget about them.

Nice tip to know.

SPark

 

What else could cause this? Would a wrong rotation water pump cause it? How do i check which rotation i have?

 

well... stab in the dark here but if the front coolant passages in the heads were dry, they might have just drained back by the time the intake came off (assuming you were just low on coolant causing an air pocket and building pressure). i would venture to say if you put a level on your motor its tilted back slightly. beats me, never seen a SBF not get coolant flow through a head like you are describing.

 

Air pockets in the system, nothing more. Next time fill the system and leave the cap off the radiator till the engine warms up and the T'stat opens up. This will let the air pockets escape.

 

air in the system??

Does your intake have a plug or two in the front coolant passage (usually your temp sensor is installed there)? If so, use that to "burp" the system. Jack the front of the car up enough to elevate the front of the engine and remove the coolant plug. Add coolant to the radiator until you can see it in the front coolant passage. Install the plug in the intake and lower the car. Fill the radiator and you should have enough air removed to avoid an "air lock". The key is to have coolant "against" the back of thermostat so it can open when warm. Leaving the cap off will let the air escape. Works every time for me.

 

Okay cool! Would this pressure cause a blown head gasket?

 

it can if it gets ignored too long.

 

Okay. Hopefully i dont