Dayum.. Just found a pan rail crack.

[Mart]

Ok, here goes nuthin'.

The welding rods came today, as did the jb weld. I decided to give the welding a go. It's not the prettiest of welds, so any experts had better look away, but I think I did ok. I followed the guidance in the video I posted, always making sure I peened each short run, and that it was cool enough to hold my fingers on the weld before doing the next little bit. I also used a wire brush in an angle grinder to clean the weld thoroughly between each run. I did about 1/2" at a time, but had to overlap quite a few times as I had left a gap. You can see it in the pics.

Here is the crack with a hole drilled at each end.


I then ground it out with an angle grinder. I was surprised at how thin the pan rail is.

I had put down 3 or 4 beads when I took this pic.

I then carried on, moving a bit further along and coming back to cover the gap in the previous run.


I carried on, at a leisurely pace (you have to do it slow to prevent heat build up) and slowly filled the entire groove with weld.


I ground it back and filed it flat. As flat as I could without risking making it a low spot, anyway.


And as there were a few imperfections, I mixed up a smidgeon of jb weld and put a smear over the whole area. I'll sand it down tomorrow.


Anyway, I'm quite pleased at how it came out. It was good to get the old arc welder fired up again. It must be about 10 years since I last used it.

Mart.

[Vergil]

That crack is history Mart ... nice job and thanks for the update ....

Vergil

[Ross F-1]

I'm curious what the little dots knocked into the rods and pan rail are for? In lieu of numbers? Why mark the rail?

[Henry Hopper]

Nice work Mart.....I wonder how many otherwise good blocks have been tossed for a crack like that.

[Mart]

Originally Posted by Ross F-1

I'm curious what the little dots knocked into the rods and pan rail are for? In lieu of numbers? Why mark the rail?

Just some sort of numbering system during an earlier rebuild. The pistons, rods and underside of the block are all marked with dots. Looks like a blunt punch was used.

Mart.

[Russ/40]

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Can you tell us what rod you used and your source?

[Mart]

I just bought them off UK ebay I searched for cast iron welding rods.

I bought from a seller that stated high nickel.

Mart.

[Modelacrazyq]

That repair looks great, good info as well. I found a website for a product called Muggyweld 77 that offers an arc rod for cast iron that I'm considering using for a cracked deck on a 8BA I have. They have an impressive video on there website using the product. It's not cheap though, but it sure beats junking a block.

[Binx]

Mart, I'm not a flathead crackologist by any means but I have a crack welded 59 block that was acquired with a pile of other stuff. My block's repair is on the opposite side of the main web and about the same size. There is an additional welding inside the block diagonally away from the pan rail. You may want to take a closer look there. Brainstorming an effective way of checking is to flip the block, tilt the stand so the bell is low then pour in a quart of any capillary action fluid like alcohol, paint thinner, lacquer thinner, etc. It will give you your report card of how your weld did too -- which I think looks excellent!

Lonnie

[FlatheadTed]

Looks a Nice Job Mart .

[rotorwrench]

Pressure test will tell too.

[woodypecker]

Three chears for Mart.

[Wensum Valley Rods]

Nice work Mart.
I think that that weld will hold up just fine. I used high nickel content rods to weld up a crack in our cast iron boiler in the wood burner. You can weld these with no pre heat and the weld must be kept as cold as possible so small stitches and time to cool are the name of the game. I could pretty much lay my hand on the welds almost directly after doing them.
Didn't look pretty but it's been used for two years since then and no problems, the temperature change in the boiler is far more aggressive than in a flathead so I reckon you are on a winner.

Paul.

[V-v]

Old post. But are you used that engine now?

[Mart]

Funny enough, I have put that motor in my recently acquired 41 pickup. I just came in from tightening the engine mounts up. Hope to have it running in the next month or so. Fingers crossed the repair is watertight.

Mart.

[V-v]

Lets us know will it keep

[Ronnieroadster]

For added protection add sodium silicate to the water coolant the stuff is also know as water glass if there's any possibility of a leak that will seal it up. Same stuff used in most of the block sealers being sold but its always highly diluted with water.
For a better idea on the sealing quality of sodium silicate look on line for information. I have used the stuff many times on extremely cracked Flathead Ford blocks I have run which have set many fast speed records it really works.
Ronnieroadster

[V-v]

Originally Posted by Ronnieroadster

I have used the stuff many times on extremely cracked Flathead Ford blocks I have run which have set many fast speed records it really works.
Ronnieroadster

Extremely cracked how bad your blocks are cracked?

[RalphM]

I can’t see photos
Something about third party hosting?

[Mart]

Originally Posted by RalphM

I can’t see photos
Something about third party hosting?

Yeah, photobucket.

Problem is, I can't edit the original posts to try and get them to reappear. It looks like if a post is older than a certain age, the ability to edit disappears.

Mart.