well, maybe a common sense ?, but i'm gonna ask anyways. today i finally got to turn the key on my new engine, got it running, and for the most part, was ok. i put water (for now) in the block, about a gallon, put the t-stat in, and about another 2 1/2 gallons in the radiator. all seemed to be ok... then at one point in another turn, i turned on the heater and later checked my water and it took another 1/2 gallon, so my question is, did it take that 1/2 gallon to fill the heater core and lines? it doesn't appear the water went anywhere else undesireable, but just wondered if that happened cuz the heater control valve was closed before and then opened...

another question i had was, is it common or normal for water to seep at the head bolts at first til the engine gets hot with the new head gaskets and thred sealer? at first i saw a couple of minor seeps from outer head bolts, but then never saw anymore at all when i ran it a couple of other times. initially i wouldn't think it's normal at all, but someone told me i might see that until the gaskets heat up and really seal up.

KAM

 

i dont know about the moisture by the head bolts.

but about the heater core, there is quite a bit of line between the block and the core, and the core itself is not that small, so yeah seems like 1/2 gal is about right for filling the core and the lines to/from it

 

and after thinking about it, i didn't watch the coolant level when i started it up, so it probably sucked some down on the start and then once the thermostat opened up, combined with the heater, probably pretty much accounts for it all.

KAM