Water leak between block and oil pan

[cb-racing]

I had a water leak between the block and the oil pan. Luckily the water went outside and not into the oil pan. The problem has been localized, but now the question is, how do I fix it without having to remove the engine?

Edit: it must be a 1939 V8 ford Flathead. It is the water jacket that has a cast opening there. The material that was used to seal it has corroded through

 

[deuce_roadster]

That odd shaped hole is for the vent up into the valley. You might try putting a layer of JB weld on the suffice and careflly filing it down to the proper level if it is only at the pan that it is leaking. The new gasket should then take care of it. the metal on the blocks is thin in that pan rail anyway so be careful. That vent came out in 35 I believe.

 

[Mart]

Pretty sure that is normally a flat surface with no hole normally. I think the block has experienced freeze cracking (possibly a long time ago) which has bulged that area out and then subsequently failed. I have a block that is slightly bulged in that area and had freeze crack damage on the pan rail also.
I don't know how to advise on repairing that area as a fail like that is not very common and I have never seen a report of a repair in that area.

It's not the vent hole. It's towards the rear of the block.

 

[petehoovie]

I had a water leak between the block and the oil pan. Luckily the water went outside and not into the oil pan. The problem has been localized, but now the question is, how do I fix it without having to remove the engine?

Edit: it must be a 1939 V8 ford Flathead. It is the water jacket that has a cast opening there. The material that was used to seal it has corroded through

 

[38 coupe]

The USA cast 1940 and older blocks have four core plugs in the oil pan rail. The opening in your picture doesn't look quite round, but appears to be in about the right place. Take a look a the block identification thread and let us know what engine you have. Once we know what you are working with we can give much better advice.
Block identification thread: https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334280&showall=1

 

[Mart]

It's not the core plug area. It's not the breather.
It's the area shown by the arrow in this image.

There is not normally a hole of any kind in there.

If it were me I would try and make the hole round and JB weld a core plug (freeze plug in there. The area might need to be filled smooth to allow the oil pan to seal.

I would also carefully inspect the whole pan rail area for cracks. The damage was probably caused by freeze damage and there may be some elsewhere.

Mart.

 

[TerryOH]

This is a 40 engine block, you can see the location of the welsh plugs, you can get them at your local John Deere dealer. Not only is the hole round there is a slight step in the hole. The plugs seat on the step and are slightly hammered to expand so they seal and do not come out. I think you have a big problem with the shape of the hole that is leaking.

 

[19Fordy]

Would it be possible to carefully fill in the hole a little at a time using cast iron welding rod and then file it smooth and cover it with JB Weld, etc?

 

[marko39]

Would it be possible to carefully fill in the hole a little at a time using cast iron welding rod and then file it smooth and cover it with JB Weld, etc?

I can understand your desire to fix this and you have nothing to lose by trying to. Possibly a better “fix “ would be to square up the hole and braze in a patch. This is assuming there are no other cracks.