Cracked Block

Werner said:
Hallo und guten Tag,

just made some pictures to shows the external work. The pinkish-white discoloration are residues from the final crack-tightness test.

I am currently a little ill, therefore I'l show the next step, when the seam is cleaned.
Click to expand...

Very interesting appearance. Looks pretty good! We are all hoping for the best. Get well.
 
Werner said:
Hallo und guten Tag,

just made some pictures to shows the external work. The pinkish-white discoloration are residues from the final crack-tightness test.

I am currently a little ill, therefore I'l show the next step, when the seam is cleaned.
Click to expand...

Make sure you knock the weld spalls off the springs and clean everything really well.

Only real problem I ever had with cast was cooking the oils and contaminates out of the metal before striking an arc. Preheat it until a pine stick smokes on contact, Mig it hot and low feed and keep it hot with a torch or salamander while it cools.
 
The welding of cast iron is not really any black art, welds pretty much like any steel. The secret is in the pre heat AND very slow post heat, or controlling the cool down of the area that was hot enough to weld together. Cools too fast it will crack next to the new weld every time. :eek:
 
The beginning and end of the fracture was stop-drilled with 1/12" diameter of an inch deep into the water channel. The course of the fracture line was milled 1/4" deep and 1/3" wide a V-seam.

Then were 3 lines overlapping TIG seams welded filled. Every 1" of the length, the tensing forces were extracted with a compressed air needle gun.

It had welded in a special welding company. I do not know the working time, the bill was about $ 340,-.
 
Werner. First of all I would confirm this is where you’re leak is actually coming from . Best accomplished with a pressure test which means disassembly. Are you sure the leak isn’t a head gasket failure? Which is showing up in the oil and valve chamber ?

The cost and time to fix that block probably isn’t worth it in my opinion.
I would entertain a rebuilt short block which is least expensive route.
Guys have spent a lot of money fixing cracks and stitching and then still have a block that may be leaking or having issues and is always a problem can be.

Just my advise... I know your across the pond so not sure your availability there .
All the best
Larry shepard
 
the bill was about $ 340.
Seems very reasonable and looks like a nice job. Will be interesting to hear after you've ran it for a while.
 
Attached is a photo of the cleaned weld. It is easy to see that only short distances were welded.

Unfortunately, welding beads have jumped to the rioght valve spring. They can be abraded, but the risk of this spring breaking is now high.
 

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So I took a grinder and ground off/out the mess the freshman welder made. Got back to the cracks and the new ones :mad:. Cleaned up a large area around that and slapped the JB Weld to it. I made sure it was clean with no oil or grease and had fresh ground metal for the JB to adhere to. I mentioned earlier in the the thread that I had read while searching that (I believe it was Tom W (with the train in his avatar) (sorry can't remember name) that said he did this while the block was under a vacuum and also used super glue first. I didn't have any super glue when I decided to roll but I did have a vacuum. I took my shop vac and attached it to the water outlet on top of the engine and fired it up. It was a good solid connection and I could actually see the JB Weld being pulled into the crack. ;). I didn't let it pull enough in to cause problems as it had thickened somewhat before I turned the vacuum on.

We'll see what happens but I don't think it will leak just sitting there. It will either be the jb deteriorates or expansion/contraction opens it up. I've read many many stories of people using this as I have and them saying it never failed on them. I did a gas tank several years ago on a little Japanese mini truck I have with a crack in the tank about 3" where the previous owner backed into something. It doesn't get moist around the crack and there is always gas in contact with it. Hasn't leaked a drop. Maybe petroleum is different than antifreeze in this regard. I had nothing to lose at this point so wish me luck. :)
 
Guten Tag History.

Nice that you continued the post. Often you don't get any feedback and you don't learn whether the measure was successful or unsuccessful.

Which 2 component resin adhesive did you use please? And at what temperature?

Note: Since glycol antifreeze slowly destroys epoxy glue, it is better to use only corrosion protection to the cooling water. There is industrial corrosion protection for water-cooled boring mills.
 
I used JB Weld. I also had a small heater pointed at the front of the engine, before, during and after. I cleaned it really well and ground all the paint from the surrounding area, ground along the line of the cracks and had the vacuum going while applying the epoxy. I would have went with the other epoxy but it's very expensive. I may do as you've mentioned and not use antifreeze. I will add the corrosion protection and just water and drain when it's cold. It's stored inside my shop anyway, even with out heat I've never had anything freeze inside. Hopefully it works and I can can concentrate on other things. Wish me luck and I hope your troubles have eased as well.

Werner said:
Guten Tag History.

Nice that you continued the post. Often you don't get any feedback and you don't learn whether the measure was successful or unsuccessful.

Which 2 component resin adhesive did you use please? And at what temperature?

Note: Since glycol antifreeze slowly destroys epoxy glue, it is better to use only corrosion protection to the cooling water. There is industrial corrosion protection for water-cooled boring mills.
Click to expand...
 
I'd like to get some data on the glycol/epoxy issue, it sounds to me like another one of those old mechanics' tales.
 
Hallo und guten Tag Colin.

Glysantin is a (PEG) polyethylene glycol and dissolves many plastics that contains plasticizers. Also epoxy resins.
(Resistant are e.g. 'Nylon', 'Teflon', silicone rubber and sometimes 'Viton'.)

In the photo you see an attempt many years ago for a temperature sensor on my Traction Avant. I used R&G epoxy. This condition was shown about after 2 weeks / 300 mls later.


Hallo History.

Thank you for the detailed explanation. My motor / gearbox / clutch unit is unfortunately not yet installed. I'm still waiting for the steering shaft. I think it is better to install the revised steering at first.






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Werner said:
Hallo und guten Tag Colin.

Glysantin is a (PEG) polyethylene glycol and dissolves many plastics that contains plasticizers. Also epoxy resins.
(Resistant are e.g. 'Nylon', 'Teflon', silicone rubber and sometimes 'Viton'.)


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Click to expand...


I believe this is also the reason behind the failure rate of the modern head gasket.
 
years ago... I know a guy that his gas fired small dump truck had a crack in the block. He used water-glass, and said he drove it another 3 years before he went to another company and it was just fine. (Ohio)
 
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