Do you have rods in your head? I do.

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I would love to see a photo of the rods in the /6 head, it's a first for me.
Ive seen this posted and talked about somewhere not too long ago/ don't remember whether it was the /6 forum or the copy of Dutra's book I have.... I'm thinking it may have been both. but it was mentioned wherever it was, to go ahead and pull them out with needle nose.
In fact I probably wouldn't have noticed (or looked) in the heads that I have here if I hadn't seen the writeup that I did about the subject,
When I 1st tried to pull them I thought the same thing, "they're REALLY in there", won't come out... but then I tried again (from a different water passage maybe?) and got one to move/ so I started pulling and it twisted itself up and came right out. They weren't very sturdy or rigid.... probably on account of how old they are and the exposure to water, coolant, and what it turns into when neglected plus throw in all the heat and cooling cycles over the years.....

there was a thread somewhere else recently, claiming that someone discovered the rods in their /6 head when their car wouldn't warm up and discovered one wedged in their thermostat, keeping it from closing..... given the way coolant flows and moves I can see them floating around in there eventually. If possible I'd try and get them outta there.
 
The uphot is, every Slanty head ever made has 'em, over a million of 'em. Runnin' & runnin'.
 
The uphot is, every Slanty head ever made has 'em, over a million of 'em. Runnin' & runnin'.
Good point, Killer6. But it still bugs me. Something foreign in my cylinder head. It wouldn't be that tough for the guys to pull them out back when they were cast. Just seems lazy to me.
 
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Good point, Killer6. But it still bugs me. Something foreign in my cylinder head. It wouldn't be that tough for the guys to pull them out back when they were cast. Just seems lazy to me.
I feel Ya, but that's mass production, & the processes used at the time. Now, lost-foam method & others, have increased quality & control over the casting process. As stated by another member, it wasn't uncommon to have a bit of wire exposed during pattern filling, or during the pour. That is welded into the casting at that point. Imagine pulling hot castings out of the box, to bury/let cool, then knocking the green sand out. Cars are rolling down the line, the machining station is waiting for the raw casting, & someone is wrestling w/a pair of pliers on a wire that is part of the casting. Probably get kicked out of the process rather quickly, being that they were intended to be left there to begin with.
 
Possible the "RODS" were put there on purpose, to slow the water flow for added cooling.
uhhhh no. Anything that slows water flow down coming out of the engine will not cause it to run cooler, but quite the opposite.
 
Maybe I'm missing something. Water flow coming out of an engine would be the same as going into the engine. So slowing down the flow some would allow the radiator more time to cool the incoming flow to the engine. A larger radiator works well, why, water is being cooled longer.
 
I was wondering what that was. I was able to get a loose piece out while I was replacing the thermostat, water pump, and hoses last summer.

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Maybe I'm missing something. Water flow coming out of an engine would be the same as going into the engine. So slowing down the flow some would allow the radiator more time to cool the incoming flow to the engine. A larger radiator works well, why, water is being cooled longer.
That larger radiator works better because it has more surface area to reject heat. More tubes more fins ect.
 
Good point, Killer6. But it still bugs me. Something foreign in my cylinder head. It wouldn't be that tough for the guys to pull them out back when they were cast. Just seems lazy to me.
Those support rods are in virtually every block and cylinder head from Chevy, Dodge and Ford that has ever been cast all the way back to the Model T. Modern casting techniques have eliminated the need for them, but they don't affect the cooling in any way. So other than them looking gnarly inside the water jacket there's nothing to be concerned about.
 
Those support rods are in virtually every block and cylinder head from Chevy, Dodge and Ford that has ever been cast all the way back to the Model T. Modern casting techniques have eliminated the need for them, but they don't affect the cooling in any way. So other than them looking gnarly inside the water jacket there's nothing to be concerned about.
Not true CNC-Dude, I have found a rod stuck into a thermostat once. Did not know where it came from. Thanks to this thread, now I know. I'm 66 and still learning.
 
Not true CNC-Dude, I have found a rod stuck into a thermostat once. Did not know where it came from. Thanks to this thread, now I know. I'm 66 and still learning.
Well, for the most part, nothing to worry about! There probably are isolated incidents where there have been hiccups like yours, but the engineers apparently weren't too concerned with it or they would have had them removed before installation I would think.
 
I found this on the internet about engine block casting techniques. No one here has stated whether the rods that they've seen in their blocks are steel or aluminum.

The core shown below provides the space for water jackets around the cylinders. The core has being painted to seal the gas formed during the casting process within the core. And the pink colored ends are not painted to let the gas escape to the out side. Aluminum reinforcing rods are used to give more strength to the core. These rods get melted due to the molten metal poured during casting.
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The ones I have seen in the Chrysler and Ford blocks and heads are steel. Haven't seen too many in Chevy's but they did use them also. On some Ford blocks, you can knock out the freeze plugs and see them extend up into the deck surface.
 
just notice that today in my head , its pretty solid in there, and its been over 50 years so she gonna stay like that
 
I found this on the internet about engine block casting techniques. No one here has stated whether the rods that they've seen in their blocks are steel or aluminum.

The core shown below provides the space for water jackets around the cylinders. The core has being painted to seal the gas formed during the casting process within the core. And the pink colored ends are not painted to let the gas escape to the out side. Aluminum reinforcing rods are used to give more strength to the core. These rods get melted due to the molten metal poured during casting.
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I've only seen steel wire so far. The melting point of Al-U-minimum is <1/2 that of cast iron, & it has the propensity to transition from solid to fluid abruptly, the chances of a fragile core collapsing during the pour would be high IMO.
 
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