Cylinder Head Crack

M

Mark Earl

Junior Member
It seems that the first cold snap of the year up here has arrived before I had the chance to drain the water out of the car. Can anybody tell me whether this crack is repairable and, if so, is it worth the time and $$ to fix it? I've been toying with the idea of installing a 5.5:1 head for a few years so now might be the time to do it. Any advice would be much appreciated.
 

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Original heads are easy to come by, a new5.5:1 head could be installed
i would not even try to fix the crack, since other heads are easy to come by
John
 
Take a good look at the front of the block under the water pump now too.Good chance of a freeze crack there too. Heads are plentiful,and just not worth fixing.
 
That's what I figured. Would like to have all my facts and figure$ straight before I tell the wife what's happened. I don't want my head to look like the upper one in the pic here.
 

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I've also seen blocks crack just above the starter, in the lower curved part of the coolant chamber. I've also seen the blocks crack in the valve chamber, and you'd need to remove the valve cover to check there.

As Mitch said, 50/50 all year is the best advice.
No one would run just water in their new cars. :eek:
 
yeah I would do some searching. If it's cracked that bad it will be in other spots! tough lessing to learn.
 
I would definetly put on the 5.5 head at this point, but if you just want a stock
one I have a lot of them around. I'll send you one just for the shipping cost.
 
You might get lucky and find the head is the only crack. When I bought my 28 Phaeton it had a crack in the head that looked the same, but luckily the original engine block was fine.
 
That's at least a $300 repair. I had a small crack in my Winfield head I had welded and it wasn't cheap. The work was fantastic (Midwest Cylinder Head) but it wasn't nearly as bad as yours.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Tom: I'm telling myself that because the pressure of the freezing was relieved by the cylinder head cracking that the damage will be limited to there. Which parts suppliers do you guys normally use? I've checked the prices on the 5.5 head and all the required accessories (head gasket, stud kit, etc) and found that Snyder's and Mike's are pretty close. I'd prefer to buy Canadian but if it's going to cost me an arm and a leg more, I'll stick with an American supplier.
 
If you want to save your money for now, then I'd take up DODGE on his offer for a stock head. I buy most of my parts from Bert's, Bratton's, Snyder's and Little Dearborn. I don't know any suppliers names in Canada.
 
I really appreciate DODGE's offer, but I think I'll just spend the money once and have the motor the way I want it. Will I see any increase in cruising speed with the 5.5? I'm guessing that acceleration and hill climbing will improve somewhat.
 
Mark Earl said:
I really appreciate DODGE's offer, but I think I'll just spend the money once and have the motor the way I want it. Will I see any increase in cruising speed with the 5.5? I'm guessing that acceleration and hill climbing will improve somewhat.
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Hey Mark, didn't you see you lived in canada, ontario. Have you heard of "Dixie" parts suppler based out of kitchener? If you are looking for advice or another head I will give you his name and number. Tell him I sent you. or PM me and I will send it.
 
Thumper is enticing Bambi to come out onto a frozen pond: "It's alright Bambi, the water is stiff!"
Sometimes it is a hard lesson to learn. Froze a rebuilt 324 Olds engine on a cold winter night near Niagara, and did not realize it until the 3rd period of a Junior A hockey game at the old Rex Stimers arena in St Catharines. Came home to find six "frost" plugs on the shop floor. Lucked out - no cracks!
As others are saying, check the block water jacket externally as well as in the valve chamber area especially beneath the distributor area. I hope you luck out.
 
Interesting experiment: Dump in a jar of genuine Bar's-Leaks & see what happens. It's very safe & WON'T plug up anything. Bill W.
 
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