Nasty surprise

[cletrac (RIP)]

I'd just groove it a bit with an angle grinder and use JB Weld on it.

[gordon]

My Chevrolet 1.5 ton had a crack like that, so I called in the Metallock site chap and he fixed it on site, in the truck.

but ...


First thing he did was clean the surface of the block and do a dye penetrant check, which revealed the crack went from than location ALL the way back to the bell housing. To be fair he just chased it down and fixed it - worked perfectly afterwards and didn't leak

Apparently this is at a change of section thickness and a known weak point. Since yours is bleeding through the paint I'd suggest that the crack may be longer - strip back the paint along the same line each end of the crack.

Get it fixed on site, by a professional, them just forget it, but do check your oil in case the water is going in, as well as out.

[gordon]

The US product looks fine for filling and sealing a crack, but the repair method tends to push the sides of the crack apart - possibly elongating the crack.

Here in the humble old UK the Metalock people...

http://www.metalock.co.uk/Typical_On...n_Repairs.aspx

...do it differently. They use formers to drill ACROSS the crack at intervals and drive in a tapered dog-bone type of insert which pulls the sides of the crack together, and then they use pins like the US ones to seal along it. This is a much more satisfactory system from a mechanical point of view.

I can see you are in Australia, a fair distance from them, but I'd recommend them highly if they had a local agent, though these days it is probably an arm-and-a-leg job for a site visit. I was more than happy but then it was twenty years ago.

[hrpearce]

Originally Posted by cletrac

I'd just groove it a bit with an angle grinder and use JB Weld on it.

I agree David JB weld works well as long as the surface is cleaned well.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I saw an old John Deere 2 cylinder tractor that had a wrist pin slip and groove the cylinder. The old farmer filled the groove with JB Weld then honed the cylinder. It had been used for several years when I saw it apart and you could tell where the JB was but it was still holding up.

[Marc van Aalderen]

I am currently rebuilding a Wilson pre-selective gearbox for a 1934 Riley and the car had a rod through the side of the block. The owner of the car had it laser welded were the company specialised in this repair work first cut a piece out of an irreparable block and laser welded that in the "good" block. First time I have heard of this technique. Not cheap but as these blocks are hard to find he had no other option.

Cheers,

[BSM]

Thanks for all of the above input once again. After demystifying the problem to be tackled the Locknstitch bits were purchased from a very helpful agent in Mackay (QLD-Aust.) and the work began. Few images attached for those interested. You were correct Gordon. After removing more paint the problem grew to approx 4inchs. Some magnaflux chemical was purchased and after a few trys (alias learning curve) I finally got a result. Turns out it helped to remove the normally rough skin surface in the vicinity of the crack. First pic is the result. This was followed with a centre punch to make it more pronounced.
The other images show a few of the steps with the last being the end result. Pin edges can be peined or done with a 2mm pin punch which was the final choice. Engine now back in as of yesterday and all being well the leak will be a thing of the past. Rod

[BSM]

Last image. Generally speaking the task was relatively straight forward once you got the hang of it. Rod

[gordon]

I'm glad you chased the ends of it before you started the repair.

That's a pretty typical crack through the thin casting section between two webs. Here in the UK it would have been caused by freezing - not sure if that is likely where you are.

Have a really good look at the other thin sections before you put all the other bits back on.