I am ready to re fit the cylinder head on my 1956 Dominator 99 after helicoiling a stripped thread and I have re annealed the copper gasket. Previously I have had a slight weep of oil between the head and the cylinder block and wonder if it would be advantageous to apply a slight smear of Wellseal on each side of the copper gasket or perhaps even just around the pushrod tunnels ?
I am aware that applying Wellseal would make make the future removal of the head more difficult.
George
I always...
...use a very thin smear of wellseal applied with a little paintbrush. Combined with a well-annealed solid copper head gasket it eliminated leaks from the head joint on my Commando.
Wellseal doesn't set hard and doesn't make the head more difficult to remove in my experience. I've also used a thin smear on the outer section of the ground (no gasket) head joint on my ES2 (cast iron head) again with good results.
I have always had some seepage on the 99. The Atlas which I did a top end overhaul recently has amazed me by not leaking at all. I did use some black rtv goo around the push rods and studs. It even has some stainless bolts which I don't trust one bit. Time will tell.