i just found a pair of edmunds 8BA heads, got them home only to realize the one has a crack in it it looks like it goes down near the plug hole all the way up around to the outside if i find the ends, drill a hole, bevel and then tig weld it will that be sufficient to fix it and run it safely? ive never had much interest in aluminum heads as they all seem to be pitted up from the water these heads were really nice with no broken fins so i "***umed" they were good...only once i cleaned them a bit did i realize the crack it looks as though they were run for a bit while cracked because its corroded around the crack guess i shouldn't have been so anxious, and just p***ed on them thanks for any help Zach
If you weld it successfully you should probably stress relieve it before use so it doesn't crack again. The whole head should be evenly heated and wrapped or buried in something to cool down very slowly. I don't have the details but someone on here will.
Once you grind down below the surface external contamination is non-existent. However...the quality of the aluminum used when it was cast can throw a monkey wrench into things. I wish I had the before pictures of these heads before my buddy built up the broken fins and the coolant erosion spots on the sealing side. They came out beautiful after they were milled. You can't tell where the repairs were made. I'll take credit for grinding the built up welds to their final shape. Once it's welded I'm sure you can reshape the welds so that they can't ever be detected. I bought a set of original Eddie Meyer heads and turned them over to him for repair. He did quite a lot of aluminum cylinder repair work back in the 70s on BBC race car engines that dropped valves when aluminum heads were rare and costly. He could not get the Eddie Myer heads to weld up successfully. It would start out just fine and then suddenly some imperfection in the casting would just blow up in his face. So I guess the answer is maybe. You guys paid for my repairs that were done in the machine shop of a government building on tax payers time.. I'd say go for it. I'm sure if it can be done you can handle it.
id do it, my neighbor is and exelant aluminum welder, he helped me out many time in fixing vintage speed equipment. he did a 51ish hudson head for my freind that was cracked 1/2 the way around, it was bad, but it turned out great, it was a little contamintated but it turned out fine. i milled it at work when he was all done. JEFF
thanks everyone i'm gona give it a try i guess thought about beveling it, then etching the bevel with ferric chloride to eat away any contaminates? not sure if thats necissary or not but i guess it can't hurt? hopefully this week we'll see what results i get! thanks Zach
Can also be arc welded. Lincoln 4043 rod on Dc. Bevel and weld. Looks terrible when welded but when ground you will be unable to find the weld as it will become part of the casting and indistinquishable Work fast and almost vertcal. Tig is great but sometimes hard to get suffecent heat. this stuff does the job there. it also works for trans cases. Last head i repaired was a race head that blew at 8000rpm. It could have been pulled apart in three pieces by hand it was that bad but is now back together. Bevel the crack but not too thin. Weld in short bursts and chip immediatley. Tap the rod before each weld on something solid to knock the flux off the tip so it will start . to pressure check the head bolt it to a thick piece of wood (1 inch plywood )drilled to match the head bolt holes with the chambers exposed. Using a gasklet of course. Rubber works good from an old tube. Rig an adapter to the water inlet in the head to fit a garden hose and hook it up to the garden hose. turn on the hose and look for water leaks around the welded area. If necessary reweld the bad spots. Remember patience is the best subs***ute for $$$$ . This way an expensive repair can be made for a few bucks and be just as good.
anything you wash it with could contaminate it,just grind it all the way through,then weld it,100% weld. if you dont weld it 100% your wasting your time.
I agree. If you dont grind it all the way through, then the crack is still there, and may come back to haunt you. Good luck.
Groove, gl***bead, and spray the crack area with non clorinated Brakleen(the green can) Shove alittle more weldin' rod into it than you normally do when weldin' aluminum. To float the dirt to the top. Dependin' on the amount of **** in the original metal,after you machine into the weld it may have some pits in it. just weld over it again. Smokey
I raced VW powered midgets for 4 years. we broke aluminum cases and heads a few times. When I got into racing them I was amazed at the amount of times these guys would reweld a head. almost to infinitum. Drop a valve, no prob, weld it up. cracks between valves and from valves to plug holes were so common it was not even mentioned when you pulled a motor apart. the time that got me was when we cracked the center main support web on a magnesium case and found a fellow racer who welded it up without needing to line bore it. in most of my welding I brought it to a friend here in town who was a race fan and a great welder. I as long as I would fully prep the weld for him he would only charge me 20 bucks or so. I'm sure a case of beer would have worked just as well but I wasn't even 21 at the time. His preference when welding my aluminum equipment was, bead blasted then machined with a steal/carbide bit. grinding was ok but an end mill or high speed cutter in a die grinder to V and clean around the weld area was much better. Depending on my application he would use different rod etc. I remember I had him weld up a billet aluminum pitman arm for me that I had stripped the splines out of. told him I wanted it a hard weld because I was resplining it. he welded the hole up completely and I took it back to work (aerospace machine shop) and had it rockwell tested for hardness against the rest of the material. turned out within a couple points. prep and knowledge of the application means everything. If you know any VW guys in your area ask them where they bring heads to get welded. might help with a little experience, even if you just ask his advice.
As said above gl*** bead it v it out with a co**** alum carbide bit. Clamp the head to a flat surface preheat then TIG it only!!! Use a 75-25 helium Argon mix and It will be just fine. Dont worry about post heatin its not cast iron. Ive welded LOTS of cast alum and its no rocket science. Dont Mig it or especially dont use that stick ****. Tig has the most control inside and out. FEDER
EXACTLY!! Lots of heat and the helium mix helps alot.Aluminum welds better hotter than cold,pre heat if you can and be aware that over 300 degreese the heat treat if any will change.I weld heads that have been heat treated(air cooled m/c) as long as the entire head is less than 300 degreese it stays hard let it go above and its like penut****er,soft and gummy to machine.Tap it with a hammer softly and if it rings its hard.You will need a machine with 300 amps or better to do the thick portions.Good luck...Gary
thanks guys im gona give it a GO my biggest concern is where it exits the combustion chamber into the water hole thats gona be where its the the most chance of blowing a gasket later if a problem arizes i believe thanks Zach
You know aluminum forgets its been welded. I wouldnt worry about it. It is a different material than iron or steel. I have repiared heads that were absolute disasters. both that i welded ad that other shops welded before i started doing my own. More often than not once you machine it back you cant find the repair. I have never had a come back ever on a welded alumunum head I repaired. The VW story is worth rereading as these were the most common ones I was asked to remachine after welding in my early career. They came back from the welder looking like **** but after machining and careful grinding I doubt you could tell what chamber had been fixed.There are companies that repair heads and garanntee them too , both aluminum and cast iron. Aluminum is the easier of the two to weld and repair because it seems to forget it has been welded to put it crudely
I'd guess that it had water in it and it froze! Note crack follows right across the water hole, which would have stopped a simple crack, and continues on around the top of the head in the same area. Being on an engine full of water allowed pressure to be contiuous right across that hole...
i used to sell 2.2/2.5 dodge heads to a local machine shop because they were prone to cracking in the valve seat area and they welded them up with no issues. find a local restoration person they could probably direct you to a competent specialty welder
I think the heads are junk. You'd be better of trading them to me for a new set of Offy heads! LOL Dan Marvin, Owner Exeter Auto Supply
well.... not having any luck i studied this thing with a magnifying gl*** to find the end of the weld drilled....followed along the weld and walked along the crack cleaning it out the end, i THOUGHT was right at the upper most bolt hole, right beside the fin its tight to weld there so i just took a big gouge out figuring i could build it back up as i went and eventually machine and grind back to stock as soon as i started welding i realized the crack went farther...way down back around almost to the plug hole all the way around the head and ontop of that......it doesnt weld! the porosity in the casting mixed with whatever black stuff kept coming out of it just didnt let the aluminum pool or even really do much of anything aside from pop and sputter its just too long of a crack down through all the fins....i think its not worth wasting the argon and time sooo.....anyone have a left side Edmunds 8BA head for sale! dmarv....i'll trade ya now! thanks alot for all the help Zach
Aluminum has to be PERFECTLY CLEAN. to weld correctly. Plus you need pre heat. And then it has to cool SLOWLY.
i think its working i got it welded......we'll see once i machine it back down how it looks i couldnt get it 100% clean without actually removing ALL the metal....and i figured with it cracked around back to the plug hole that it would pull and warp if i did remove a full groove of material soooo....i took out where it seemed like i could and welded the rest as best as i could the combustion chamber was the only REALLY bad part as it keep getting airated looking beside the weld...but i dug down as deep as a could and welded it back shut...welded the plug hole shut too i figure it'd be better to do that and then totally redrill and helicoil it later this is all with fingers crossed.....but im feeling optomistic as of right now thanks everyone for all the help Zach
ok here she is.....way too much welding for one night! i think i need a water cooled torch! once i get the combustion chamber cleaned up a bit more i think i'll have to put more weld to refine the edge redrill the plug and reface the top for it to seat correctly.... i tried to get metal into the water hole to add to the surface for the head gasket up there.... what a turn of emotions....i was darn frustrated when i realized it was cracked ALL the way around and back to the plug hole.... but now it looks like it might be ok??? we'll see! and...does anyone know why this says "BURKE" on it?
I just re-did a set of Edmunds 59AB heads on Sunday. After the 2rd try I have one good head after pressure testing. I'll have to try again on the other. All of my problems lie in the combustion chamber. These Edmunds heads have **** aluminum casting! I wish I had taken pictures. Make sure you pressure test and re-surface! -Torr
Also, make sure you check your valve height in that chamber with some clay. I used some cold toothpaste on mine the other week, worked pretty well for $.99, and now my valves are smelling minty fresh. -Torr
You got alot of good advise here the only other thing I would do is put it in a big of kitty litter when it cooling down
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