Have you checked your cooling system lately?

[Mr. Belvedere]

This water distribution tube came out of a spare running flathead I recently picked up, along with 6lbs of mud and crud. In fact the lower half of the lower freeze plugs were completely rusted thru. Just the dirt and sediment pile in the lower half of the block kept it sealed. I noticed strange ridges and grooves in some of the cylinder walls where the cylinders come closest to each other. I believe that it is heat damage, because between some of the cylinders where they come closest, the rust and crud formed a wall and blocked water flow from going all the way around there by creating hot spots. The engine also had one burned exhaust valve. According to the guy I bought it from it ran well and had no overheating problems, I have no reason to doubt him since he sold it to me cheap. It is actually quite a testament to how tough these engines are, and how little or no maintenance they can get and still perform fairly well.

[greg g]

A burnt exhaust valve may be directly related to the failure of the distribution tube, as its function is to direct coolant at the valve seat area. So the valve could have been trying to do its job in a very hot environment, while the rest of the engine was blissfully unaware of the condition.

[P-12 Tommy]

[ATTACH]11123[/ATTACH]This water distribution tube came out of a spare running flathead I recently picked up, along with 6lbs of mud and crud. In fact the lower half of the lower freeze plugs were completely rusted thru. Just the dirt and sediment pile in the lower half of the block kept it sealed. I noticed strange ridges and grooves in some of the cylinder walls where the cylinders come closest to each other. I believe that it is heat damage, because between some of the cylinders where they come closest, the rust and crud formed a wall and blocked water flow from going all the way around there by creating hot spots. The engine also had one burned exhaust valve. According to the guy I bought it from it ran well and had no overheating problems, I have no reason to doubt him since he sold it to me cheap. It is actually quite a testament to how tough these engines are, and how little or no maintenance they can get and still perform fairly well.

You must of had one heck of a time getting that tube out!!

[Mr. Belvedere]

You must of had one heck of a time getting that tube out!!

You have no idea, I nearly cried. At one point I wanted to curl into the fetal position and go to my happy place.