[GP_4_SPD]

I found a little antifreeze under the front end the other night after about 40-50 miles of cruising. After a little inspection, looked like the gasket under the radiator cap had deteriorated a bit in the last 49 or so years. No big deal. I thought. Replaced the cap and watched my temps at idle with a laser reader. All ok. Next day, ran a couple errands and when I got home, I checked under the car and saw a pool of antifreeze getting larger under the drivers side next to the oil pan. Checked the oil, all ok. Checked coolant temps, all ok. I let it cool for a few hours and went back and the pool was two feet in diameter. I raised it up enough to squeeze my 265 lbs. b.o.s. (big old ass)under it with a light and was amazed to see my block cracked and leaking antifreeze out of what appears to be a water jacket on the side of the block just at the top of #1 cyl. I am still in shock and don't know whether to post a wtb or for sale ad or just go back to bed and hope i wake up and it was a bad dream. From my past personal experience however, the later is not a very effective way of dealing with things. Has anybody had anything similar happen? can a block be Welded? am I looking for a new motor? Sometimes it's just easier to deal with something when you can see it from a different perspective. It's like my granddaddy used to say to me, Rosanne Rosannadanna, it just goes to show.....it's always something.

[Stuart]

Do you know if the coolant froze over the winter? That would be the only logical reason for a block to crack like that, I think. Blocks can be welded, and they can also be repaired with a method called lock and stitch where they drill and tap a series of overlapping plugs into the cracked area: http://www.r-f.com/lock_n_stitch_repair.asp

If the crack is minor enough it may be possible to fix it with epoxy or some other sort of stop leak product, it should be in a low stress area of the block.

[Deadhead]

I hope I am not adding to your pain - but curious as to if the Antifreeze is good and with what Stuart said - did it freeze? Always creeps me out, and I feel your pain. At least it is easier to fix than getting a paint job, so don't throw in the towel. Worst that can happen is you end up with a stronger engine and weaker wallet.

I have seen welded repairs in blocks but only in ones that were out of cars, so I don't know if they were adequate or not.

[mkoser]

I had a '63 Chevy Belair that I drove in high school. I was a broke high school student, which meant I didn't always have money for anti freeze, which was required in Northern WI.

One day, the same thing happened to me. I noticed a green tinge to the snow.

My shop teacher told me to bring the car in. He helped me uses a die grinder to clean up the 1" crack, and used a commercial degreaser to clean up the surface.

We then used JB-weld (I know what you're thinking) to seal it up.

I drove the car for another year and then sold it. Not sure how long that repair lasted, but it never leaked a drop while I had it.

MK

[Ragtop Man]

Maybe you can fix it... but do you want to?

Unless it is a matching number, Pete Estes autographed glove box points judged car, it may be time to reload the old gal. There are lots of good affordable ways to rebuild that don't involve ultra high po build techniques, and give you a lot of confidence to boot.

Sheesh, 50 years on a block, cheapskates!

[GP_4_SPD]

I do feel the love. Thanks for the suggestions. The car sits in a heated building from nov. to may. It did not freeze. I saw the same leak last november but it was a couple drips, fixed the cap, checked temps and all seemed ok. Even now, antifreeze on the ground and my radiator is not low.??? Too bad stuff won't go bad when they sit still so you can have them ready by the time warm weather rolls around. I will check out the link above. I do appreciate the thoughts. I will have it ready by july either way to attend Dayton then Norwalk for sure. Thanks all.

[rohrt]

Originally Posted by mkoser

I had a '63 Chevy Belair that I drove in high school. I was a broke high school student, which meant I didn't always have money for anti freeze, which was required in Northern WI.

One day, the same thing happened to me. I noticed a green tinge to the snow.

My shop teacher told me to bring the car in. He helped me uses a die grinder to clean up the 1" crack, and used a commercial degreaser to clean up the surface.

We then used JB-weld (I know what you're thinking) to seal it up.

I drove the car for another year and then sold it. Not sure how long that repair lasted, but it never leaked a drop while I had it.

MK

My brother boat motor wasn't properly drained one winter and cracked the block. We did the same darn thing. We first found the end of the crack and drilled a small hole to stop it from spreading. Did the same thing with cleaning and die grinder. JB weld was used along with a hammer to try and push it into the crack.

We used the boat like that for 3 years. It still leaked a little but not much. We ended up pulling the motor to paint the boat so we tried to have the block welded and it ended in disaster. The crack spidered out everywhere. They guy doing the welding was a boiler welder and took precaution of heating the block, not sure what kind of rod he used. The block was ruined and had to be replaced. Found a a car block was very close just had to grind down a mount to work. Put the forged gut of the old motor in and we were back at it.
Boats suck.

[GP_4_SPD]

Originally Posted by Ragtop Man

Maybe you can fix it... but do you want to?

Unless it is a matching number, Pete Estes autographed glove box points judged car, it may be time to reload the old gal. There are lots of good affordable ways to rebuild that don't involve ultra high po build techniques, and give you a lot of confidence to boot.

Sheesh, 50 years on a block, cheapskates!

I agree 100%. Got a 400 block getting ready now. See ya at Dayton.

[66bonne]

Interesting post over on the Yellow Bullet forums about JB Weld. I was surprised at the number of times it was used to successfully repair a cracked block.

Jim

[Sirrotica]

I've wouldn't be afraid to use either a stop leak such as Bars Leak, or JB Weld to repair it. I've used Bars Leak successfully many times as well as JB Weld on cooling system leaks on my own stuff as well as customer cars that never leaked again, and went to the junk yard with no leaks years later. Following directions and prep means success or failure and these repairs can be permanent if common sense and prep is done.

I know there are going to be people on here that will say these are mickey mouse repairs, however after dealing with engine repairs for over 40 years I feel I know enough about the subject to give a true and accurate appraisal of alternate ways to effect a satisfactory repair other than throwing the block in the junk pile.

Welding can be hit or miss and while I've seen it work fine I've also seen it fail miserably and I believe the purity of the base metal has much to do with it. Typically high nickel content rod is used to weld cast iron and preheating the block along with slow cooling are necessary and still don't guarantee a successful repair.

I've personally never stitched a block or head to repair a crack, however my father, a mechanic most of his life, did speak highly of doing this type of repair before electric welding was a common thing and epoxy hadn't been invented at that time. Bars Leak was originally used in the steam pipes of submarines to seal leaks and it worked satisfactory for that purpose and was later used in cars. Of course there is was much more at stake, and much more potential for failure given the much higher working pressure of a boiler fired steam turbine.

If it were my own I'd try the easiest cheapest route first before rushing out to spend a good deal of money by buying a new block and all the attendant pieces machine work etc, if the original engine is still in good mechanical shape. If there is bad ring seal (blow by), bad valves, ticking lifters, low oil pressure, etc. then it's a no brainier.