Block Crack Repair

[Giordano Thibault]

Overheatingcan sometimes be caused by a cracked engine block, leaks from the cooling system, or coolant leaking past the head gasket. A crack in the engine block could be an expensive repair, but with K&W FiberLock Head Gasket & Block Repair you can be back on the road in 30 minutes or less.

K&W FiberLock is the most advanced product for repairing cracked head gaskets and engine blocks. When there is a crack or hole in your block or cooling system, the pressure in the system causes heat to build up around the crack. FiberLock seeks out the hot spots and seals them permanently with three levels of protection. Military strength fibers create an interlocking web over the breach, nanoparticles fill in and create a solid bond to the metal and Cool-X conditioner keeps your engine running cooler long after the repair is made. FiberLock is compatible with all types of antifreeze or plain water.

Premium Solution for Blown Head Gaskets, Cracked Heads, and MoreCRC FiberLock uses a unique blend of technologies to provide a permanent fix for cracked heads, blown head gaskets, engine blocks, and cooling systems. FiberLock combines three unique features to make it the premium choice for a head gasket sealer and permanent block repair:

The product gets its strength from sodium silicate content, reinforced with military-grade proprietary fibers. When applied to a crack, it forms a web-like weave over it to provide an impenetrable, multi-layer repair.

This conditioner circulates in the cooling system after use to lower operating temperatures and improve heat transfer long after the repair is made. This means that not only is the leak repaired permanently, but it also helps to prevent other cracks from appearing in the future by ensuring your engine does not overheat.

I know that I will get blasted for this one, here goes... I used to work in a shop that did quite a bit of JD tractor repairs. The experenced JD mechanic we had in the shop would repair the 404 JD engines (they have the O-ring grooves in the block) with JB weld. I had watched him do this on more than just a couple of those blocks. He would clean the damaged spot, Install the o-ring and then form the JB weld around the damage. Then he would lube the liner and install it in the block. After a cure time the sleeve would be removed and the spot would be fixed further with a sanding block. I had never seen one of those engines leak after his repair,

Thanks Gonzo. This is exactly what I was looking for. I have heard of JB weld being used, but I wanted to confirm the story with someone who had epxerience. My repair should be simpler, becasue the grooves are in the sleeve. The block just has to have a good surface, be smooth, etc.

Thanks Dale. There is a local machine shop that will do what you are describing. He wants $150 per hole. I might be tempted to do that, but it would be weeks before he could get it done. The next nearest shop with the capability is 150 miles away. The time bothers me as much as the $600. If it was the only choice, that is what I would do.

I assume that this tractor will not get lots of hours on it per year?? OR work at or near full horsepower? this would make a difference on my reccomendation. If you were going to put on 500 or more hours per year chopping or plowing at full horsepower then I would take the block to the machine shop. For low power and limited hours per year the JB will work just fine.

if you find an old case dealer they maybe have the tool they used to use to fix them and put the sleeve in. i have used silicon on jd 4020s when they leak to the outside shoot it in the weep hole. a jd block is easier to fix they usually erode the top above the oring. i think case is like ih you need a flat surface. if you want to try it i would jb weld the surface and sand it or hone it smooth. you could always coat the orings with silicone sealer and shove it in to.

Listen to Gonzo,I've probably done 8-10 with JB weld and the guy that showed me how to do it has done about 50 that way.He used to be the service manager for our local Ih dealer ,know he's in charge of all the equipment at a local stone quarry.My 1466 puller had it done 15 years ago and always had a 11 or 13mm Hypermax on it and never bothered.Just my 2 cents.

Not to be too nit picky, but electrolysis is really a poor name for what happens to the sleeves in a wet sleeve block. The more correct term is cylinder cavitation erosion. As the piston starts its power stroke it is forced against the side of the cylinder wall. This force of the piston deflects the cylinder (just a few thousands) and that movement causes cavitation bubbles. These bubbles implode on the cylinder surface with increadible force. That little bubble forms and implodes forms and implodes once for every other turn of the crank. If the coolant in the system is slightly acidic or alkiline this process is speeded up many times. Some engines are very prone to this and some almost immune. A good example is the IH DT 466 I have seen holes in cylinders with as few as 4000 hours on them, while the 8.3 Cummins engine will run for 10,000 hours and show little or no cavitation damage.

My two cents worth is just that-two cents worth, but if it were mine I would have the bottom of the cyl. machined out and put the repair seat in. I would know then that the repair would hold. JB is fine if you can get to it from the outside, but I would not want it at the bottom of the cyl. wall.

I would agree with the machine job IF this was a heavy use or valuable tractor. For a low value and little use engine this repair (to the block not the sleeve) will last a long time. BUT this was presented as a option only to the owner..

On Cat engines that show this kind of damage, I have done the JB weld repair, it holds up no problem. But I will only do this on minor damage, as in slight imperfections that would probably seal if no repair was attempted.

But good news, you probably don't need to remove the engine to have sleeves installed. The Cat dealer I work at has a machinist who goes out and does these repairs in frame with mobile equipment. The tooling will work on any engine, contact your local Cat dealer, either they'll be able to come out, or get you connected with someone who can, to get this fixed properly.

This is a low-value, low usage tractor. That is why I am going with the JB weld fix. If I was earning a living with the machine, I would approach it differently. The other thing that makes it different is that we don't have much in the way of machinists locally that can do the work. There is one, but he is months out in his work, and would charge $150 per cylinder. The dealers (IH, JD, etc.) send their work to Three Forks, Montana, the better part of three hours west of here. I did not check with the Cat shop; it is possible they could do it.

Back when ELC came out, it got a bad name because a lot of engines that had been using conventional antifreeze had failures such as yours after switching to it. The reason was ELC cleaned out all the sediments left in the bottoms of blocks that would have been leaking if not for the residue conventional SCA coolant leaves.

With a clean block, and new seals, start it out right on the best coolant you can run. There will not be any more cavitation damage if you do so. I have taken engines apart that had over 20.000 hours on them that used ELC exclusively and the outsides of the sleeves looked just like new.

The first and second pictures are taken from the bottom of the block looking up to to the top of the block. The bottom of the picture would be the front of the engine. Notice that all the serious corrosion starts above a ring corroded into the block. That ring is just above where the upper seal rests. The second ring corroded into the block is about 1/2 inch above the first. There is about 1 inch of the sleeve above the seals that are close-fitting into the block. All the corrosion is in this area, with most of the corrosion in the lower 1/2 inch.

Yes it is possible to have a cracked engine block reliably repaired by a machinist or engine/metal specialist. It would require removal, complete disassembly down to the bare engine block, and then transport and wait time for the repair. Not to mention the dollar cost. The cost to repair the block once at the appropriate place is likely to be several hundred dollars.

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