Technical How can I fix this intake ?

I have this intake and the two rear corners at the water passageway in the heads are really corroded bad.
It's deep to the point I'm leery to sandblast it for fear of blowing through, I thought about cleaning it the best I can with wire wheel then spray some etching mag wheel cleaner in it, then epoxy it.
I'm not sure what kind of epoxy to even use but there has to be something that'll work, I know they use epoxy to fix heads that have been ported to much. I hate to give up on this intake manifold because the rest of the damn thing is really nice.

 

How about JB weld?

 

I agree on the JB Weld. Fill it to a smooth surface, lightly sand it flat, use a good gasket with a good sealer and it should be fine. The gasket will be doing most of the work in sealing against the water pressure.

 

'ALL CRAFTS' Professional Epoxy... This is 'the good stuff', according to the mfr.

I have to say also: According to my son, in the CNC business for 40 years...he gave me a box of the 2-part epoxy to fix a D0VE head for my 460 project.
This epoxy is used at the end of son's company 'run', to fix occasional errors on a run of 100+ parts...These fixture-produced jobs may have been thru 60+ machine operations, so rather than 'junk' a number of them, this epoxy hardens to the spec that it can be machined, fixing $$$$ worth of mistakes.
It's like...JB weld on steroids. Guaranteed. Look it up.
It worked for me...

 

Right now it doesn't look like much surface area for the gasket to seal to that's for sure, I understand even after the epoxy fix it would need a bit extra silicone to seal.

 

I'd say that matter what you use the first step is to get it completely clean. I'd see if a local machine shop had a cold tank for aluminum. That leaves you with a better look to the aluminum than sanblasting does from what I have seen from a local shop. Then you can decide which product you need if you need one.

 

If you have access to a TIG machine, I would use a coarse burr in a die grinder to remove all of the corrosion down to clean aluminum then weld it up and hit it with a single cut file and check it with a straight edge. I've done it many times. Although these days I'm just as likely to try Atwater Mike's epoxy or a similar goo.

 

That stuff reads good

 

No welding for me, some spots are 1/2 inch deep I bet it'd take a lot of weld to fill that up, it's really crazy how corroded those 2 spots are but everything else looks great with no corrosion anywhere.

 

Agree with suggestions to use JB weld properly applied. Then find (or make) intake gaskets that are fully closed in this area so the repair is not exposed to coolant.

 

Sandblasting is not a good idea it will embed contamination deep into the metal. I would scrub it with a stainless steel wire brush and Acetone. Then if possible bake it to at least 450°F followed by more scrubbing with acetone and repeat. Make sure the Stainless brush hasn't been used on any other metal but aluminum or it will cause contamination. This is what I was taught to prepare aluminum for welding. The ALL CRAFTS epoxy is definitely good stuff. West Systems Epoxy is also very good and is easier to find at most marine supply stores. I'm guessing that welding is out of the question but would be my first choice.

 

I expect JB weld would be good enough. But you gotta find how deep the corrosion is, first. A carbide burr would probably be a good way to remove the bad stuff, and get to metal. I'd scrape off the gasket remains first, and see how the flange looks

 

Agree with squirrel. JB Weld should work fine in this application.

 

Had the exact same problem,,,,,had it welded.
A good friend of mine that is a toolmaker was able to tig it,,,,,he didn’t try to fill in the entire area,,,,,,but he got it more than enough to cover a gasket fit.
Then the rest could easily be filled with epoxy.
As far as epoxy goes,,,,I like pig putty myself,,,,,it works very well and is very durable .
Almost like concrete after setting up,,,,pretty darn hard too .

Tommy

 

My first thought would be to fill it with weld, Second would be aluminum brazing, Third would be some sort of epoxy......I just don't like the way they say "resistant". What about the stuff they use on drag motors to fill coolant passages.......I think one products is call HardBlok.

 

IF it were my intake, I'd take it to my nephew, who owns an aerospace CNC machine shop. I'd have him machine out the corrosion, and make some brass "plugs" to go into the machined-out areas; maybe epoxy them in place. Electrolysis sure ate away at those ends; maybe install some sort of sacrificial anode also. But, unless you have a friend or family member willing to do the work for free, it would't be worth what someone might charge to do the work, based on the manifolds worth or replacement costs.. Using an epoxy should be "good enough" however. Was the manifold actually leaking at those ends? I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

I have used " Marine-tex" epoxy with very good results for over 30 years . sealed a cracked block that is still in use . sealed a broken exhaust housing . stripped threads in an intake manifold. Imbedment plates bonded to both fiberglas boats & roadster bodies . sealed a cracked abs holding tank. Sealed a leaking steel fuel tank seam. Sealed leaking radiator tubes in an aluminum radiator.

 

Not sure I would tig it. You would have to get ALL of the corrosion out before trying.

 

Don't mean to change the subject, but did anyone notice the Winters Foundry snow flake on that intake?????...... I had one of those and also the strip dominator intake with the snow flake casted on....

 

Yes, that and diluting it with straight water so the anti-corrosion additives are diluted; and a very common issue is lack of proper engine grounding resulting in electrolysis, which destroys the coolant additives, leading to corrosion.

 

I'm not sure, I got the intake from a friend, I know it came off a running 283 out of a 57 vette and the reason the choke horn was milled off for hood clearance, but I'm unsure if it leaked or not.

Holley had Winters cast intakes for them, this is a copy of the early Z28/LT1 intake but flows better and supposedly legal for Super Stock racing, reportedly good to 7200 rpm. This is a Street Dominator ll, not much info on the "ll" part but it just seems to be an intake that's worth saving, without getting to crazy about the process.

 

Put me in the epoxy line too. yes, use a burr and clean the shizzle out of it. If you still have concerns, drill a series of shallow angled holes around the perimeter, maybe an 1/8th or so deep and your epoxy will have legs or teeth to hold as well as the chemical bond. Clean though. Really clean and never look back. Still concerned? Block the gasket back there. Something thin below the bead sealing surface of the new one.

 

I’m on the train of @2OLD2FAST I have only heard good things about Marine Tex, has great durability to heat and chemicals.
I’ve even see someone on here use it as a skim coat of filler over bare metal to hide chop lines due to extreme heat stating some other fillers show thru due to expanding/contracting at different rates compared to the parent metal and found that interesting.

 

If I were to epoxy it I might be tempted to grind it out some more so the is like a puck that is bigger than the hole in the head. That way it can't fall in if it loses adhesion.
I have been told welding is hard to do with used aluminum because of contamination like stated above.

 

No on the welding, corrosion is too deep into the pores of the aluminum along with water and antifreeze. Plus welding is good for small spot repairs but that much weld would require machining of the gasket surface because the area will shrink

 

Thin stainless steel sheet under the gasket with sealer, then you don't have to do anything with the intake. We block heat riser on Pontiac's this way.

 

Jb weld and a flat file worked for me

 

SWADE 41 PM me and I'll send you some MS extreme paste. This coating is impervious to gasoline You can use a Bondo spreader to fill in all the pittiing on your mating surfaces. it's easier than JB Weld

 

We have been using Marine-Tex for more years than I can remember, works all the time.