Fixable cylinder head??
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Elder User
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: mid-MO
Fixable cylinder head??
Hey I was porting a set of c8 cylinder heads for my 460 and broke into the water jacket. Its not a very big hole, about .030" in diameter, but I really dont want to just scrap it out. Is this possible to fix? If so, could I just evenly heat the whole head up to a couple hundred degrees in an oven and weld it with some nickel rod or stainless? Is there a possibility the the weld will break during use? Thanks for the input.
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Joined: Feb 2010
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From: chana,il
i believe that when they weld cast iron they heat it red hot in an oven weld it heat it red hot again then let it cool. if it's in the port it's not a high stress area. the most pressure it would be under is 16lbs of the cooling system.if its in the cylinder area its got compression to deal with if its done right i would trust it
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Elder User
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: mid-MO
Yes, its in the port itself so not too much pressure on it, but if you heated it up red hot and welded it and then cooled it, would there be too much warpage? I know that after it was welded I would need to cool it down very slowly, like in a pile of sand or something, but still....?
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,299
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From: The Vieux Ford, Kansas
You need to preheat cast, but not glowing red hot. Preheat depends on carbon content which is always high in cast iron. Controlled cooling is even more important than the preheat, dissimilar cooling rates between the filler and parent metals coupled with the brittle nature of cast iron make welds very prone to cracking . I would say just get a new head, some very rare and expensive castings are worth fixing but yours really isn't. I would also be worried about the thickness around the hole and on the other head if you are done with it. If you ported all the way into the water jacket there could be a very big section that is less than a 1/8 thick and could rust out fairly quickly or crack, being thinner doesn't do high carbon iron any favors in the cracking department. You have a pretty good idea as to what rod to use if you were to repair cast, and your preheating and cooling would work on basic applications but it is the heat cycles coupled with the thinness that will lead to failure eventually.
-John
-John
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 778
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From: southeast Idaho
Johnboy got it right with the preheating and cooling, but I have seen many of that type mistake repaired and last as long as the motor does. Just need a really good welder to do it is all. We usually warm them up in the wood stove after welding and then bury them in lime so it takes a good 24 hrs or so to cool off. But you could find a replacement head fairly easy if you want to also..
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Freshman User
Joined: Feb 2010
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From: chana,il
i was talking to a friend about this he says there is a video on you tube from midwest cylinder head about this. i saw it there but didn't get a chance to watch it yet .he said it is interesting.hope this helps you decide.
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Elder User
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: mid-MO
I really appreciate all the help guys. I found a company in pennsylvania (i think) and they said that they could repair it, but i'm not sure what I am going to do yet. Anyone know what c8 or c9 head cores go for these days?
Junior User
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 71
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From: North east IN.
Yea I did the same thing. Depending on where you are at you can try Indy cylinder head, they did real good job on it. Here's their website.
INDY CYLINDER
INDY CYLINDER
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