bobbylog

Hi guys do you think this block repairable?I have just finish my swap and found a small coolant leak so I sit under the truck and see 2-3 small drop on the side of the block. The crack was cause by impact (junkyard engine)Look to be 2'' long.I don't ask if I can jb weld this but if a good welder and machinist can repair it to be good as new.
Sorry for my bad English.

ascastil

iTrader: (2)

I would think that you can. It doesnt look like it goes that deep in the coolant passage. I guess on the deck they would just weld it up but then that weld would need to be milled flat. I think if you got the weld to bite deep enough in the crack it would hold after it was milled.

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

for the cost of a machinist to fix it, another block would be cheaper to buy

anheuserbusch08

iTrader: (11)

get a good tig welder, grind into the crack at least 1/4-3/8 of an inch preheat it to at least 150-175 degrees and weld it up. youll have to mill the deck to clean up the weld on top. good luck.

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

I think that would work, but unless you do your own machine work you can pick up a core for 100-200 from craigslist or local JY or on here in the classifieds... not to mention would be stronger..

are you staying NA? you can get away with stuff like that while being NA but Forced induction will expose the wink link in your engine.

The price to deck a block is close to 150-200 in labor+machining... A good machinist engine builder should steer you in the right direction on what to do..

goodluck

ss performance

iTrader: (17)

There is a company Lock N Stitch that makes the stuff to repair your block.

http://www.locknstitch.com/

If you want to repair the block I would contact them and see if there are any shops in your area that can do the repair.

I used them to repair t crack between a head bolt hole and the water jacket in a turbo buick. Held up under 28 psi of boost with no problems.

Good luck.

bobbylog

Thanks guys your input is very appreciate.

I agree that find a new block certainly the beat way to fix it but this engine is very low milles and here in Quebec those genIII 5.3 aluminum block are hard to find LM4 and L33.I prefer to try to salvage the block.

I've read a lots of good review about the pin but if it can be done I prefer to have it tig welded and decked for my peace of mind.I might be wrong but the repair will be stronger.

Couple more question for you guys.
Does all the internal need to be pulled before the job?
Do you think the machinist can only mill the weld area or it need to rework all the surface?
If I can avoid to pull the internal I will be happy!
I really need to talk to a good machinist.I will update the thread but It might take a couple of week before I have news.
Edit: Yes the engine is na with only a couple bolt on.

Burken01

iTrader: (88)

To deck it, the internals will need to be out since they will have to clean the block of any debris after its complete.. and to do it right the whole surface should be decked to make it as flat as possible so the head gaskets will seal properly.. ofcourse you can get away with not doing that but it won't be optimal..

if its NA then you can get away with little stuff like that, but I wouldnt cut corners In my opinion... I did and they have come back to haunt me, and cost me more money and time.

bobbylog

well the weld is done and look good I hope it will hold! The guy v the crack a lot I can even see the well inside the water jacket.

ckpitt55

iTrader: (4)

Interesting. I'm assuming you took it somewhere to be done? Looks like a clean job. The only hesitation I would've had with getting it welded is with all the heat input required it'd be pretty easy to basically anneal the aluminum in that area.

bobbylog

Yes, the block was weld by a local welder who do a lots of aluminum.
I'm pretty sure that the high heat change the property of the alloy but I don't know much on the subject.
This is not a place that need to be strong, my only fear is the heat cycle.

bobbylog

I'm back on the road!
I ended going the cheapest way I can...I flatten the weld with a file and check with a straightedge and put one new head gasket and bolt set.I've put around 200 miles on it and it run strong no leak!
I hope it will hold but I'm already hunting for a block or a complete spare engine.For now, I will beat the hell out of it and let you know if it fail.

RADEoN

iTrader: (12)

when that block breaks, i don't think it will be from that repair spot. looks good to me.

lt1 sport

iTrader: (13)

We have a local shop that does block stitching all the time, there's nothing wrong with doing it if you have a shop who knows what their doing perform the work. One example is a guy who had a matching #s old mopar 426 hemi that he threw a rod and punched a decent sized hole out of the block. I saw the before and after and you could barely tell what had ever happened.