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crack in 6/1 head

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mobile_bob:
get some waterglass  and have it ready, you will need it sooner than later.

the k&w blockseal is amazing stuff

the first time i used it was on an old endt 71 mack 6cylinder diesel that had a crack just under the deck that ran nearly 14 inches in length, and the water ran out like niagra falls
(only a slight exaggeration)

in desperation i was told to use a can of this stuff, follow the directions to the letter and see what happens

the crack sealed off in about 5 minutes of run time, did the drain/dry/flush and refill with antifreeze mix and it never leaked again.  a few months later i tried it on a crack down the center of the airbox on an 8v71 under the blower,  it sealed that one up too, and reportedly never leaked again.

now both of those were freeze cracks, as opposed to stress cracks, so maybe a crack that has movement will open back up again.

cujet makes an excellent point, it might be, and likely is the case that the recycled materials the indians use to cast with turns out to be more closely related to cast steel than grey cast iron? if so it will weld very easily and machine just like any other cast steel products

about 25 years ago i was researching having a lathe bed casting poured by atlas foundry in tacoma wa.  i was asked what i wanted it made out of, and i asked for grey iron.  i was told they don't do much of that anymore, "everyone wants cast steel"  i asked why...

"because of the ease of repair welding down the road, no one wants to fuss with grey cast iron"

cast steel welds as easily as mild steel in my opinion, and does not require a lot of special prep, preheat (in most cases) or special rod, that is a huge bonus as stated it welds easily and the weld machines just like mild steel.

if it turns out that the crack opens back up, i would recommend having the head welded, unless the crack runs down somewhere making access with the filler rod impossible to get a good weld.

have you, or can you determine the cause of the crack? 

bob g

MachineNLectricMan:
I'll tell you how we use to repair thousands of cast iron bearing and gearbox casings back in the old oilfield days. Simply grind the crack out and run brass into the crack. You have to make sure you grind all of the crack out or it will continue to grow after it is repaired. It takes some skill to run the brass into the crack with an Oxy Acet. torch but when you get the hang of it (like judge Roy Bean) it is fairly easy. Brass is somewhat soft and will tolerate more shock and abuse and is great for water jackets and things that vibrate a lot.  For stronger repairs in bearings I used nickel based spray metal, which takes a lot of skill and experience to apply correctly but will reliably repair the nastiest cast iron. There are many varieties available for different purposes, some are machinable. Brass is also the best way to repair fuel tanks.

All of the good welding rods for cast iron were taken off the market decades ago, I once used them. The stuff they have now days is pure crap.

JB weld and the likes are intended for emergency temporary repairs only.

If I had my old equipment up and running I could do this work, but that may be another year or so.

cujet:

--- Quote from: MachineNLectricMan on October 30, 2021, 11:20:32 PM ---I'll tell you how we use to repair thousands of cast iron bearing and gearbox casings back in the old oilfield days. Simply grind the crack out and run brass into the crack. 



--- End quote ---

That too! Brazing cast iron is a very good way to repair it. One little trick that helps is to incorporate a piece of regular steel in the repair, as this significantly helps the brazing job quality.

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