'53 Buick Straight 8 water jacket crack - repair options?

[Aaron65]

Hi moderators - could you please leave this here rather than moving it to the Buick section?  It's a general technical question and I'd like more eyes on it if possible.

I found a cooling system leak on my '53 Buick with a 263 Straight 8; I made an amateur error by tearing the head off before pressurizing the cooling system to double check.  I figured it was a head gasket leak when I first saw it, but looking at the location of the cooling passages and where the leak was, I now suspect it's a crack in the water jacket.  I've included pictures below.  

A few questions:
1. Anyone have a good way to make this crack show up better?  

2. I'm going to come right out and say it...is this a situation where JB Weld might work? 

3. I'm not keen on shipping the engine of my $12,000 car to someone who stitches blocks, so is there anything else that's perhaps less expensive that I might be able to do?

Obviously, this has been going on a while.  I even brought something up about 10 years ago because I noticed a slight drop in antifreeze, but it was so slow that I just ran it.  In hindsight, there were a few other clues like a milky breather that wasn't milky when I ran a hotter thermostat.  

Anyway, any help, even if it's just talking through options, would be helpful.  Thanks!

Aaron

[F&J]

1 hour ago, Aaron65 said:

1. Anyone have a good way to make this crack show up better? 

one way is to clean it spotless and dry, (and no antifreeze leaking out, so drain it)  Then when perfectly dry and super clean, give it a thin coat of latex white house or ceiling paint. Then after that paint dries, add water and run it, it should leave a rusty stain right at the crack over time. 

 

1 hour ago, Aaron65 said:

2. I'm going to come right out and say it...is this a situation where JB Weld might work? 

JB Weld is used by some of the early CJ2 1940s Jeep forum guys, as those engines typically have block freeze cracks near the distributor.  I did it to my sons 1946 Jeep, but we don't use a pressurized radiator cap on his farm-use-only Jeep.  Can't hurt to try it.  It has to be ground super clean to shiny metal, and totally free of antifreeze creeping though the crack while you are using the JB Weld on it.  I don't know if it will hold with pressure. It might?

[Pete O]

Maybe a replacement engine?    They are not crazy expensive.  There's a few on ebay now for around $2,000    Here's one.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/275035218001?hash=item4009606051:g:O9oAAOSwid9hj-md

[Matt Harwood]

 

[edinmass]

_{There is NO free lunch, and that weld job(sure looks like a weld job, maybe just the photo?)was an asinine attempt to fix it for free if it is a weld. I appreciate the spot you are in. Pull the engine, and stitch it assembled. Not a great option..........right now you have a paper weight in the garage. Fix it right, or sell it.........an undependable car is just as bad as a paper weight. You do it for the love and enjoyment, not the dollar signs. Best of luck......}

Edited November 22, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Aaron65]

I just called up Lock-N-Stitch in California, and they asked me to send a bunch of pictures, a measurement of the length of the crack, and the thickness of the wall.  I have to drill into the wall with a drill bit that's less than 1/8" and take a thickness measurement.  

It looks like a pretty good system, and I don't have a lot to lose at this point.  

Ed, I don't think it was previously welded; it's probably just the picture.  It does look like there is some kind of light casting line near the crack.  It's not really a paperweight until April or so when I get it out for the summer, so I have a little time to figure it out.  It's my favorite car, so I'll fix it one way or another...it may take a few attempts. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Aaron65 (see edit history)

[Aaron65]

I talked to a rep at Lock-N-Stitch, and those guys seem on their game on the phone.  I had to send several pictures of the crack and I had to drill a hole to get the wall thickness.  Then they'll put together the necessary items and give me a quote on materials.  So far, it looks like the most plausible option aside from finding another block.  Wish me luck!

[trini]

Forget about weld. Get another block. This my opinion.

[edinmass]

That crack looks like it ends at the three core support wires........what some would call a cold flow crack. Usually from a later metal fill in when the casting was made. They can be very thin, or normal thickness. Lock & Stitch is a process sold to anybody who has a credit car. It’s more art than science. It’s NOT easy to do. If your. It talented I wouldn’t recommend trying it at home. I would only use a FULL TIME stitcher. There are several,around. A good stitch is a fine repair and will last longer than the block. Not all areas can be fixed. That said, it’s possible to cut out a bad area and stitch it closed with a new chunk of cast. Sometimes it perfectly fine to stitch it assembled, sometimes not. Location and availability of a known GOOD block would be needed to help more.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Another block would be better, for sure.  BUT, if doing that , and throwing this one away,  why not try? What is to lose?   I am afraid I would have to try. And then perhaps go to a lower pressure radiator cap. 

 

  Ben
 

[Angelfish]

Look for an epoxy called Belzona.   Expensive compared to JB Weld but it is specifically intended for applications like yours.  

[19tom40]

I would go with the stitching process if the person who is doing the stitching will say that it will work. You should be able to find a machine shop close to you in MI that will do the work.  Epoxies do not hold up very well in old cast iron.

 

If the stitching is not going to work and the area is not visible to the casual observer, you can install a plate over the crack with a paper gasket, similar to a water pump gasket, between the metal plate and the cast iron. I fixed a hole in a Ford V8 engine that way in my younger years when I could not afford anything. I drove the car for 4 more years and sold it with the patch on the block.

[Aaron65]

In case anybody's interested in my progress, I ordered a kit from Lock-N-Stitch and followed their instructions (and Mark from their customer service department did a great job answering any questions I had).  I was able to repair the crack with a few hours of work.  After reinstalling the head with the old head gasket, I used my pressure tester to pressurize the system to 19 lbs. (it's a 7 lb. system) for two and a half hours with no leaks (before I called it good and removed the tester).  In a perfect world, I'd have my machinist run it up to 30 psi, but the block is still in the car, so I'll have to call that good enough.

It's snow and salt season in Michigan, so the car won't be on the road for a few months at least, and I still have to get some assorted gaskets to reassemble the engine.  While the head was off, I had the valves touched up and I think I'm going to take the rockers over to be touched up as well.  Before I run it, I'm going to add a handful of GM sealing pellets to the cooling system, because any possible leaks should be very minor.  Who knows how this will last over time with heat cycles and everything, but the system is designed to lock the pins together with the block, and the pins are wedged against their threads and sealed with anaerobic sealer.  If you can drill and tap, it's not that bad a job.  

Take it as you will, but potentially keeping my block for $200 and a couple days work is worth the chance, in my opinion.  So far, so good.  

 

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by Aaron65 (see edit history)

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

When we do pressure testing on water lines, we always test at 1.5 times working pressure. So if working pressure is 7 psi, test pressure would be 10.5 psi. You should be good at 19. Mike 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Good deal, Aaron. 

 Perhaps just coincidence, but shortly after using those pellets my radiator plugged.  The material plugging the tubes looked suspiciously like the pills. Need to have the residue analyzed.

 

  Ben

[Pete O]

Excellent work!  It looks like a professional did it.  Congratulations.

[Aaron65]

1 hour ago, Pete O said:

Excellent work!  It looks like a professional did it.  Congratulations.

Thank you!  They recommend using a needle scaler to blend in the repair, but this is in a spot that's not visible unless you remove the pushrod cover, so it's probably not worth running out to get a needle scaler for this one time (I hope!).  

[Aaron65]

I figured I'd update this post.  I've been driving my '53 all year since repairing this crack, around 800 miles (hey, I have quite a few cars to drive).  There's no sign of a coolant leak yet, although I did have to really flush out the draft tube because there was years of moisture/oil vapor sludge plugging it up.  It's amazing how sick an old car can be and still run decently well.

Anyway, I had the valves touched up when the head was off, and I added a Best Gasket "Graph-Tite" head gasket, and the cylinders are all within three pounds of compression (123-126 psi) and the oil pressure is the same as it's ever been.  There's a little more blowby than I'd like for an engine with 20,000 miles on it, but it doesn't use much, if any, oil, so I think I'll be good to go until the next crack forms.

Long story short, don't be afraid to use Lock-n-Stitch for a crack in an accessible area. 

Edited October 20, 2022 by Aaron65 (see edit history)