The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Having One of THOSE Days!

Preparing the trucks for winter today, and notice I've got a crack in the block of my 46 216. Hasn't been cold enough here to freeze? Bought the truck several weeks ago, having been recently rebuilt, and have put about 300 miles on it since purchase. Now have this crack show up from nowhere. It runs horizontally down the side of the block, parallel to the generator. It don't leak much, kind of just oozes out. Do you think the thing was previously frozen, and just hadn't cracked through yet, or ? At any rate, I guess I'll be looking for another 216. Anyone got a good one near Denver?

Don't give up on it yet. External cracks are repairable. There's a process called "sewing" where overlapping threaded plugs are installed in the area of the crack, which seal up any leakage. The crack is stop-drilled at each end, and the drilled hole is threaded with a tapered tap. Then a tapered cast iron plug coated with sealing compound is inserted in the hole, and an overlapping hole is drilled, threaded, etc. This procedure has been in use for at least 50 years that I can remember, probably a lot longer.
Jerry

Hotrod, You've always been good for advice. This cracked area seems to be about 3.5 to 4 inches long. Will this process still work on one that big? A couple of other questions for you, It doesn't appear that I have water in the oil, but it seems as though I have a little bit of oil out of the crack. Does that make any sense? Finally, if this process you describe would work, how would one go about finding someone that still does this ancient practice? THANKS for always helping out us greenhorns!

Jed,

C J Casting in Albuquerque, NM does such repairs as mentioned by HRL. Though a ways from you, they may know someone in the Denver area that performs same. Their tel. is 505-243-2216. It takes some bucks, not so much considering the service and what they're preserving. 7 come 11?

Hi

Hot rods right about sticthin'but if your lucky you can also use Devcon Titanium filled putty
If you rough the surface up and get it really clean this stuff works wonders
I gets hard enough to drill and tap
I have used it on some very old stuff that I didn't wanna mess with and thought the crack/casting wouldn't welding or stichin'
Once you have smoothed it ion you can texture it with an wet terry towel or shop rag to look like the iron around it.
Might be a really good idea to make a small batch to play with on something else first.

Got first place once at a concours with this car in Unrestored Class at Torrey Pines

It took me days to unrestore that old car!!

I guess we haven't discussed the cause. I understand that these early 216s sometimes rust through along this area? If it is splt from freezing, I would think that there would be obvious displacement of the surface involved.

None of the iron is disturbed, from what I can tell. The crack isn't even really visible with the eye. When I fill up the radiator, over time, it seeps out this side of the block. Only way I even knew it was there was from seeing the seepage occur, and the resulting water stains. I didn't think of rust through, but I guess it could be. I can't imagine that it was ever frozen, as the guy I bought it from is a neighbor, and he keeps his stuff pretty imaculate. I appreciate the opinions on this problem. I continue to fight the battle of "cheap" vs. "right".

Devcon isn't a cheap solution. They make products for repairing items in place like your motor. They make a full range of stuff. In my case the motor was a one-off made in 1897....It was a crack the came as a result of shipping the car to me with water in it.If I had to stitch it I would have but most likely It would have been distroyed. At this point twenty two years later the car is still running and as I said looked as though no repair was ever made.

Check out Devcon's website

Like Truckernix said, it's a rust through on the bottom of the water jacket,common on 216's.Just seal it up with epoxy or what I did was to add raditator sealer.Worked just fine ,especially since the cooling system doesn't use a pressure cap.

A freeze up will cause a crack like that.
Usually the upper part is bulged out a little.
I,d put a can of bars leaks in & go on.

While "sewing" is the most effective fix, you can use a good quality epoxy, like Devcon Epoxy Steel if you get the surface of the block good and clean. J-B Weld doesn't seem to work as well as Devcon. Find the ends of the crack, and "stop-drill" it to prevent it from growing. Just drill a small hole at the end of the crack, and peen a piece of welding rod into the hole to seal it up. Then take a Dremel tool or an air die grinder, and clean the block surface down to shiny metal. Mix up a small batch of the epoxy, and work it over the crack to a thickness of about 1/4" or a little less. Just before it cures, press a piece of 40 grit sandpaper over the patch and lift it off carefully, and it will take on the appearance of cast iron, effectively hiding the repair. A little spray engine paint, and you're good to go!
Jerry

The 216 in my fire-truck has a longish crack on the drivers' side, down low. I've thought it looked like it had been J.B. welded. Anyway, it's seeped since I bought it three years ago. I just refill the radiator each time out. When it gets bad enough, (it IS getting worse, gradually) I will probably proceed with the engine swap I have planned anyway.

Oh yeah . . . this engine replaced an engine that was ALSO cracked, that one from freezing.

-Michael

I've used a lot of Devcon....The Titanium expands and contracts better than the Dev-iron
Same problem with JB Weld...Block casting just move too much

You can contact Devcon...they are real nice folks
and they will tell you what they think

HRL...
They will send a rep out to your school to show the kids what all their stuff does....it's an interesting couple hours

Hi Guys, been away from the computer for the last couple of days. Thanks for the great advice (options) you've provided. A couple of questions, if you don't mind.

Where should I be able to find Devcon? I've checked several local hardware, parts stores, but no luck. Is this a special order thing, or do you guys know of a source?

Secondly, Hot Rod Lincoln, you say drill holes at each end of the crack. That sounds like a pretty good idea, to prevent the crack from going further. How deep should these holes be?