[injectedbird]

Has anyone had water leaking into lifter valley on mr-1 blocks ?

[steve25]

Are the head bolts blind in these blocks?

If not you could just have a one of the top row of head bolts leaking into the valley once pressure builds up as seen many times on SBC motors of yore.

It's time to block stuff off and apply a pressure test to nail it down.

[AG]

IAII and MR-1 headbolt holes aren't in the water jackets.

[opeliac]

Guess that answers my question about which block i'm gonna order.

If there is enough porosity to leak like that, I just cant imagine that the strength isnt compromised.

[73 TRANSAM]

I believe they have a pipe plug fitting in there and they just flat mill it. Its the same as the IA2 set up. Good luck.

[gmeyer]

YES a friend just had BES build him a super stock engine with a MR1 block and it leaked water in the lifter galley
greg

[73 TRANSAM]

This is not a porosity problem, I believe they put a pipe plug in there to seal the hole from removing the sands from the casting process. IA2 is the same procedure. I would let them know first before you go crazy on your options. Good luck.

[slowbird]

Originally Posted by 73 TRANSAM

This is not a porosity problem, I believe they put a pipe plug in there to seal the hole from removing the sands from the casting process. IA2 is the same procedure. I would let them know first before you go crazy on your options. Good luck.

Pipe plug in the valley? Can you post a pic of what you talking about?

[mgarblik]

I have never built an MR1 block. But I have worked with plenty of castings that have some little "fizzers". That's what we call the tiny imperfections that will "fizz tiny bubbles" when you pressure test the casting. Typically, as the casting heats, they get a little worse and can put a little water in the oil. Very common in iron castings. Typically, in production engines, they will rust themselves shut rather quickly in a passenger car engine and it isn't worried about. For GM, the problem became serious for the first time with the Cadillac HT 4100 aluminum block/iron head engine. They wouldn't self-seal because of the aluminum block.
GM developed cooling system tablets for this issue and installed 6 of them in every Cadillac on the assembly line. I have some even better sealer, it is a powder not available in the general market. If the OP wants to PM me, I can provide some more info. IMO, it's a better alternative to block replacement on a fully prepared race block. Another option is to have the internal surfaces of the casting sealed with a pressure ceramic sealer. That cost a few hundred bucks.

[opeliac]

OK, since the question of coolant leaks, in the KRE block, has been brought up...

What have the problems been with the IA2 blocks?

[73 TRANSAM]

Originally Posted by slowbird

Pipe plug in the valley? Can you post a pic of what you talking about?

I do not have any pictures as it was back when I had my Blackberry phone. They always ask you to pressure test first before you do any machine work.

[injectedbird]

Got one that leaks at casting marks between the deck and lifter valley. It leaks at 6 spots.

[PAUL K]

You guys should contact KRE.... I'm sure they'll make it right.

[Scott Roberts]

Originally Posted by PAUL K

You guys should contact KRE.... I'm sure they'll make it right.

Are you?

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by Scott Roberts

Are you?

[gene simmons]

You would think there would be some qc on castings before being shipped.

[chiefbigb]

They should make it right if there is a problem. I doubt you will get any money back for parts or machine work as it probably should have been pressure tested from the start. For the most part race parts cary no warranty.

[73 TRANSAM]

When I first got my IA2 block, it looks like a thread is exposed to where it was leaking. So I figured they put a pipe plug there and milled it. But I didn't like a fix for a brand new block so Frank took care of me and gave me another block. But I could be wrong. Only guys that can tell us are KRE for sure.

[Brian Baker]

Originally Posted by Scott Roberts

Are you?

I saw that and my initial thought was "where is the laughing emoji next to the like button?"...

[F/S GTO]

Mine did it in Vegas last year between races. Was fast at the first race and it kept slowing at the second race. Thought a bearing was going away took the filter apart and saw coolant, must've had 3 quarts of coolant in the crankcase. Long story short took the motor apart when I got home could see the trail in the valley but couldn't really see anything in the deck. When I put it back together I saw a hairline casting flaw so I smeared clear RTV the spot it going to get stop leak when I get it running again. I put stop leak in it when it happened and that did stop the leak.