That plate and a leak would drive me nuts.
Not being able see it, I'm guessing the mating surface at the manifold is very narrow?
The amount surface area to seal the plate to the bottom of the manifold is minimal, so with the heat and pressure on the sealing areas, I'd go with whatever Offenhauser recommends. If there are any defects, Offenhauser should warrantee their stuff.
Gnarls.
I received an email from Tony at LCE. He had this to say about the surfaces: "We actually get these straight from the foundry quite rough.
Offy finish is horrible, so we do it here."
This means they resurface the intake at their shop, I'm assuming this applies to the bottom water plate as well.
I explained the methods I had used to seal it, and he was surprised. He recommended this: "If a gasket is giving you this much trouble, I would get a tube of Hi Temp Copper RTV Silicone
Gasket Maker and use that with no gasket. I've used Ultra Grey with no issue, but Copper is called for coolant."
I think if the stop leak doesn't work, I'll try this. Coupled with the thread sealant you recommended.
It appears to be still leaking currently, but they say it takes up to 200 miles to seal. If it doesn't seal I'll do the aforementioned.
Crazy thought, what if I made a CNC machined intake for this truck? Two halves, completely custom. Only ports that I need. Ideas...
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