I have a 65 401 with a freeze crack below the freeze plugs. It's about 8-10 inches long. Can iyt be successfully welded? TP
I doubt it. anything over an inch or so is pretty much Lunchmeat. Call Henry at Austin Auto and Truck. he might have one for a good price.
T P, my F E engine has had a crack about 7 inches long under the freeze plugs for about 8 years. I put some block sealer in it and forgot about it, never a problem. Just lucky I guess, but good for another 100K.......OLDBEET
I'd rather pin one that was frozen. Maybe it was my technique, but even with drilling the ends, preheating and peening the weld etc. the cracks seemed to multiply. My theory is that the casting is heaved when it freezes and retains a lot of stress. Maybe if the entire block was preheated and cooled slowly it would work. I've had much better success with Iron***e or S***ch-lock plugs.
yes. remove ALL rust and paint then grind a small groove in the crack so as to allow good penetration. Then use a high nickle rod and weld 1/2" at a time like: ___ ___ ___ then go back and: _____________ be sure it is clean clean clean before each weld.
If this works, we gotta see it. I saw a guy doing "cast welding" with a huge furnage and a torch. looked like a sweaty pain in the ***, and it caused core shift when it cooled down.
I would also like to add that in the first post i made the s***ches didn't come out correctly, they should be like: ---- ---- ---- ----- or the metal gets too hot. It can't get too hot nor can it cool too quick or it's likely to crack again. =========== edit, the s***ches won't show right but weld 1/2" then 1/2" break, weld 1/2" then 1/2" break
That's the way I've seen it done that is supposed to work. Two big gas burners, most of the block surrounded with asbestos, the entire block red hot and the welding done with cast iron rods and a oxy-acetyline torch. Almost every surface needed remachining afterward. Like I said before, stick welding with nickle didn't work for me on freeze cracks, but I've plugged a bunch of blocks and heads and it always worked.
take it to a shop that does tractor trailer sized engine rebuilds, those guys repair blocks that have thrown rods thru sides.
This good advise but buy yourself a good needle gun and as the weld is cooling down needle the piss out of it before you go on. Keep doing this until your done then needle entire area till you can lay your hand on it. {called Stress Releiveing}--TV
Welding a patch in a window, which I've done sucessfully, is different than welding a freeze crack in the water jacket.
I cracked both sides of a 307 Olds from deck to pan. I V'd it out and welded it up with nickle rod. Never leaked or gave any prob at all. I never took the heads off. It was a POS and I got it going as well as it would go.
Welding is too expensive, buy another block. drill/tap/plug method is nearly always successful, and fun to do if you're a mechanic. It'll cost you about a C-note to buy the drill, tap, tapered cast iron plugs. REGIS. http://www.regismfg.com/ The most critical part is being patient with the tap, get roudy and break the tap gloms up the works.
Drill/Tap/Plug was taught to me by an old Scotsman, that came up through the apprentice program in the UK starting when he was 12, he's now in his 70's. It takes time and a lot of patients but works better than any welding. This method actually pulls the metal back together. Drill a hole at the end of the crack, tap it, plug it and grind flush. Start the next drill hole half into the plug and half into the crack and keep repeating until you've done the entire crack.
I broke a bellhousing ear off my old 2.3L turbo (long story) just bolted up the ear to a spare bell and ground along the break. I think it was cold rod we used (father welded heads for CAT in the facotry after maching mishaps.....had a box of "stubs") we would just weld about 1/2" at a time and let it cool while peening. no problems after that. also did the same thing to window a block that tossed a rod with a hunk of steel plate. right now I am currtently getting ready to weld up some material on a head for my inline for mounting a carb to.
It is interesting to read so much negativity with welding cast iron. There is a bit of an art to it, but I have had a very good sucess rate over the years by following some tried and tested methods(I am a welder by trade). Start with some patience, stop drill the ends of the crack(you may have to use dye penetrant to spot the real ends). V out the crack to 2/3 rd the depth of the material, and then grind the surface of the material past the top of the "V" about 1/4" on both sides to remove all of the black spots ( residue from the sand casting, important step), get to shiny metal. Now remember the patience one, look over the prepped area to see if it is really ready. As you have heard, weld with a very good quality nickle rod, not the cheepo ones. And here you will hear the patience word again, lightly preheat if a large area, weld about 1/2" at a time and peen the weld thoroghly(patience), move to a different area and weld 1/2" and peen thoroghly(patience, peen it completely, 100% coverage, make it 200% coverage, cause you cannot be in a hurry or it WILL crack, not down the middle of the weld but will pull away from the parent metal, have I mentioned using patience when welding cast Iron?) Keep this process up with out making the welded area much hotter than the overall heat of the block....or it WILL crack it the heat is concentrated too much....did I mention patience?... Oh yea, another trick on your chipping hammer...grind the point to a 45 degree or so, then heat it with a torch to a dull red, quinch in oil to cool and the hammer will work longer and a whole lot more efficient that the dull rounded point that it probably has on it now.....see all the patience you are learning and you haven't even started to work on it, just reading this post will take some patience. Work it slow, be thorough, make good tie ins, watch out for too much heat, often a root p*** with a 2nd p*** will be necessary, peen everything thoroughly, remember the patience word, buy the best Ni rod your supplier has. Call me if you have any questions above the explanations here....in Austin 512 250 5050. I've got cast Iron stuff that I welded 35 years ago that is still in service, including the FE headers on my 32 (the 5w). Skot
Work smart, not hard. Having welded and drill/tap/plug, the crack described, the best choice is drill/tap/plug, less work, more for-sure, because as stated, if not done by an expert welder with patience, the fact remains that further cracking can occur. By the way, it's not being negative to state an opinion....
Ive seen em BRAZED with OxyAcetylene and welded with a stick welder and Nickel rod.Id suggest applying a coat of JB Weld after the repair THEN drive the **** out of it!
I'm going to try it. Nothing to loose except the block and it's toast anyway. I have never welded cast Iron but was a pipeliner with a B-31-3 most of my life. Welders know what that is. Just thought I'd find out who did it and how. I was going to pre-heat with a large rose bud,weld it up and throw a couple of thermal blankets on it and lsten for the crack. thanks TP
Im glad to read the positive comments about welding cast. I was trained in the US Navy 45 years ago and have been welding cast as needed ever since. Go to your library and look for books on how to do it if you need some pictures to help with Skotz's excellent write up. The books also go over the various types of cast iron and the procedures for each.
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