electrodeposition to engine?

dumb person

dumb person

Well-known member
So if an engine was worn down on important surfaces like the top where the cylinderhead bolts on would it be possible to deposit 1/4th of an inch metal (preferably iron) using a form of electroplating? In my bathtub? What chemicals would i need and where to buy them?
If anyone knows these i would be pleased to know. Thankyou
 

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Unless there is something very special about this block it would be not worth repairing. The frost plug indicates it is not a rare early piece.
I do not think a plating process would be in order.
A good welder might salvage it.
For about 1/10th the cost of the new bath tub or an indeterminate fraction of the cost of a divorce you can find a good rebuildable block! There is a pile of them in my barn and many more barns across the country.
 
What the photo does show is the result of a warped exhaust manifold, the super heated exhaust from all 3 ports in front of it all pass by #4, the gasket gland rings go, the manifold warps, and hot gases eat away the block at that last port, a stuck open exhaust valve can do the same on the top of the block......too costly to stitch weld cast iron unless you have a rare early block.

Otherwise you have a cast iron boat anchor now!
 

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Well seeing i live on an island pretty distant from anywhere i thought it would be easier to repair this one. So does nobody repair engine blocks anymore?
 
dumb person

"Well seeing i live on an island pretty distant from anywhere"

Go find another rusted block on your island which is in better shape.

Do you live on this island known to have stacks of T blocks?
 

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Pacific island. While i did think about welding big thick beads of weld around where the gaskets went, and around where the head gasket should seal i thought that might get hot, messy (possibly making things worse) and that electroplating iron on directly would be a cold method with less clean-up needed. An old book i had somewhere mentioned a method of plating iron but only skimmed over it so i though i would ask if anyone reading this has tried electroplating to this extent. Thanks for the response so far
 
If a "new" block is that hard to find, I think it would be better to build it up with nickel rods then machine. You can plate iron on iron but it would be hard to "spot plate". The whole area would have to be machined and/or ground. Also, the plating build-up would be about .001" per hour so to build up 1/4" (.250) it would take about 250 hours of straight plating. And, it would be pure iron without silicon, copper, nickel, etc. that adds strength and ductility to iron.
 
"The methods employed.
Degreasing followed by cleansing in a bath of caustic soda bath and then a hot water bath. After drying and protecting all surfaces that are not to be treated by the electrolytic process with a beeswax or bituminous compound, the parts are treated in an alkaline electrolytic bath followed by an acid electrolytic bath, to remove every trace of rust. After a final washing in warm water the steel object is placed in the plating bath, consisting of ferrous ammonium sulfate and water in the proportions of 75 grams to one litre of water. The object to be built up is made the cathode while the anodes should be of swedish iron - usually in the form of iron wire. The current density is about 300sq. cm. per ampere. The currents usually range from 30 to 100 amps at 8 - 12 volts. The rate of iron deposition is then about 0.005 mm per hour."

Sounds like i would use a ton of power over the cause of 1,000 hours and using something more powerful than a battery charger! So out of curiosity is there a place i could look to for ferrous ammonium sulfate? (the rest i could almost improvise)
 
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There is a process called "metal spraying" or "thermal spraying" that can lay down material at a rate that is hundreds of times faster than electroplating. Years ago a local machine shop that did a lot of work on rock crushing equipment built shafting from cheap steel and sprayed a much harder wear surface on it. Lots cheaper than case hardening such large pieces. With metal spraying they would also build up worn parts and remachine them. This may be a solution if there is someone within a reasonable distance who can do this. Personally I would find another block.
 
Where are you located? I am sure shipping a block would be cheaper than the process you described.

The plating process will deposit pure iron on the existing block which is made of an alloy designed for the end purpose. I think you will find pure iron will not stand up well.

If you are intent on a costly time consuming repair I would think a lot of welding, machining & valve seat replacement is in order. The funds might be better spent on shipping a good block.
 
i know, there was a guy who did metal spraying but he closed his shop. i am trying to think for the future where you are unable to go down the road & get another block. if i build skills now i will have them later... might have to weld or find another one for now
 
What about machining the bore of the port for a sleeve, then building the rest with an epoxy ---grainagers lists several --one lists scores in cyls as a use ---othere for high heat.
 
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