Thoughts on coating inside of water necks?

[Matt Harwood]

I have a pair of water necks that are cast iron and pretty rusty. They're intact, but pitted and you can see 80 years of corrosion working on their insides. I put them in the glass bead cabinet and cleaned them up and they're soaking in some Evapo-Rust to clean out the insides as I write this. I'm probably going to powdercoat the outside gloss black, but I'm not sure what to do with the inside. I don't think powder would be the right choice, but perhaps something like POR-15 or Glyptal to protect the inside surface? I might have minor concerns about it coming off someday and clogging things up, but on the other hand, the housings are pretty pitted and whatever paint I use would have a pretty good grip on it and coolant is pretty benign so it shouldn't eat the paint.

 

Any thoughts on what I should use or whether it's even a good idea? I'm not thrilled with leaving it bare, but I don't want to make a mistake with an expensive cooling system, either.

 

Thanks!

[edinmass]

Pump housing epoxy will work fine in a water neck. It also comes in ceramic.

[Matt Harwood]

11 hours ago, edinmass said:

Pump housing epoxy will work fine in a water neck. It also comes in ceramic.

 

Thanks, Ed. Can you give me a brand name or an example of what you use? I have to admit that I haven't heard of pump housing epoxy and when Googling it, only boat supplies seem to come up. Thanks!

[edinmass]

It's a Devcon product..........I will get the part number for you........its made to line pumps that push cement slurry........works great. Not cheap, but  a correct perminent fix.

Edited January 7, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[edinmass]

There is a YouTube video on it........the product is

 

Devco Combo Wear, ceramic........#FC11401 and a thicker putty version is 11705. I would call and ask them, we have used it in the past on impossible to replace castings with wear and pitting issues. It is ceramic based..........fantastic stuff.

[JV Puleo]

A really worthwhile piece of information.

I'm reminded that many years ago, when I was first dealing with early RRs, Dave Domidian told me he got many of his best solutions from the industrial repair industry.

[edinmass]

I wish I were ignorant............I work on too much impossible to fix stuff. 

[1937-44]

14 hours ago, edinmass said:

Pump housing epoxy will work fine in a water neck. It also comes in ceramic.

 Do you think this would this work on the inside of a steel water jacket cover?

[edinmass]

4 hours ago, 1937-44 said:

 Do you think this would this work on the inside of a steel water jacket cover?

Yes, we have used it for one already. 

[Matt Harwood]

Thanks, Ed. Ordered the smallest 2-lb containers of it. You weren't kidding about it being expensive--the cheapest I could find was $165! Glad to hear I won't regret it.

[edinmass]

I paid the same last time I bought some about six months ago. It lasts about a year once opened. Take your time........it’s messy and ruins anything you don’t want it on........preparation, preparation, preparation.

[Hubert_25-25]

Matt, 

   I do like what has been suggested.  I have used JB weld on the pitted aluminum in the water pump housing of my Jaguar XK120.  The XK 120 has an aluminum housing casting in front of the timing chain.  The water pump is mounted into the front side of this aluminum.  I had a lot of corrosion and pitting.  I cleaned all the corrosion out and smoothed the area with JB weld.   25 years later I pulled the water pump and it looks like the day I repaired it.

 

We have also repaired steel water pump impellors in our 1925 Buicks using JB weld.   I would expect that these will hold up as well, but I do not have a history report for you.   

 

One other item that I did was that I added a Gano filter into the upper radiator hose.  I did not cut the hose and install it with clamps.  I just pushed it into the radiator hose so that it maintains a stock appearance.  Good protection for your radiator.     Hugh 

 

 

[edinmass]

A short comment on using JB  Weld, Locktite, and any other assorted coating, plastic, two part epoxy, ect........

 

 

Sometimes these products are used on impossible to replace components, and many other times they are used as a cheap way out. They may or may not hold up over time. Please consider failure of the repair or permanent damage that may occur with failure over time. Personally I would not have used JB Weld to fix the impeller........I would have cast a new one. That being said, it’s most often not a financial reality to make the “complete professional repair for many or most people.” Most importantly don’t expect a shop working on you car to make such fixes, as they can’t guarantee the results or longevity of the repair. Using JB Weld between a timing cover and water pump could cause a disaster if it failed, making the shop liable. As a shady tree mechanic repair....twenty five years isn’t a bad term of service. Just keep in mind products like this often don’t perform as expected.......or as advertised.