Technical '53 Buick External Water Jacket Crack

Well, I made a dumb mistake and yanked the head off my '53 Buick's 263 straight 8 before doing a cooling system pressure test. A quick glance made me think I had a seeping head gasket, but it's looking like I have an external crack in the water jacket adjacent to the lifter valley. It's obviously been leaking for a while, but I think it's gotten worse over the past year, because the inside of the valve cover had a bunch of snot in it.

Anyway, I've done a search, but I'm wondering if anyone has any insight while I debate my next move. The engine was rebuilt by my machine shop about 15,000 miles (and 14 years) ago. I'd rather not pull it out of the car again, because it's huge, but you do what you gotta do. Any insight and wisdom is appreciated; I've attached the pictures below.

 

I had a 216 Chevrolet 6 do the same thing after 6 months of a rebuild. Had to get a new block.

 

The crack is most likely the result of either a thin spot in the block due to corrosion, or a flaw in the casting that finally cracked. A resolve runs the gambit from using stop leak to another block, with JB Weld, brazing, stitch repair, and cast welding in between. A sonic test can give you the jacket thickness.

 

I'd say you are far better off to find a good block and have it machined and go again. You can use all of the internal parts except the cam bearings and the rings or at least should be able to.

 

What have you got to loose (except for your time) to try and fix it.

 

Not much...just trying to figure out the best (and most cost effective) way to do it.

 

Check out a company called Lock and Stitch...

 

I think I'll give them a call. I can probably do that without removing the engine (not a big deal, just space in the garage during the winter), and it seems permanent. And if I screw it up, it was screwed up anyway!

 

Lock n stitch or pin it with brass pipe plugs overlapping. Best fix is new block. May the force be with you!

 

I talked to a rep at Lock-N-Stitch, and those guys seem to be on their game on the phone. I had to send several pictures of the crack and I had to drill a hole to get the wall thickness. Then they'll put together the necessary items and give me a quote on materials. So far, it looks like the most plausible option aside from finding another block. Wish me luck!

 

Water glass may cure it. I have used it a time or two.
Amazon.com: Sodium Silicate 40% (Water Glass) : Industrial & Scientific

You may be able to weld it using ni-rod and a stick welder. I would not be afraid to try that given the location.

 

When you have that big of a crack, don't assume that's the only one. It can also be cracked internally. Blocks rarely just crack in one place...

 

I think the crack looks bigger in the picture than it is (it's about 2 1/4" long), but I get what you're saying. The stitching kit's going to run about $200, which is reasonable enough that I won't feel bad if I have to scrap this block and get a new one. At least I'll have given it a try.

 

Just to follow this up - I installed the Lock-N-Stitch kit yesterday, and right now it's sitting with a full cooling system and 17 psi on my tester. I had a slight drip on one of my first pins, so I peened (peined?) it and the leak immediately stopped. The cooling system only has a 7 psi cap, so I'll probably throw some GM sealing pellets in the system and hope for the best. As of right now, it seems to have worked.

As an aside, the Lock-N-Stitch company was really helpful with the questions I had all the way through. It was certainly worth $200, especially if it is a permanent repair, especially since I did the work with the block in the car. I'm cautiously optimistic about it.

 

Hedge your bet & apply a layer of epoxy over the repair , run stop leak in the coolant ! One further thought , was the head back on & torqued ? Things move ....

 

Yep, the head is on and torqued because that's the only way I have to pressurize the system! I'm just using the old head gasket right now.

 

My uncle had a 50 buick that had been brazed in that same area he drove it for years .

 

Try the water glass I have seen it used on farm tractors with freeze cracks that lasted years. As with all stop leak I try to keep the heater out of the circuit..

 

If you followed the installation procedure you will not have an issue with the repair. I have repaired many blocks and heads with this product and recommend it.

 

When I was ten or so my brother, who was two years older was gifted a '60 Chevy hardtop, 283 with a four-speed, the major malfunction being the block had frozen and busted somewhere inside the engine so we pulled the intake finding matching "T" shaped cracks on both sides of the lifter valley. Grandpa called a welder who stopped by to look at the problem lending us a handful of cold-chisels and a short-handled maul to gouge out the cracks so after several days of beating on that cast iron lump until our arms fell off the welder returned with a Lincoln pipe-line special and a handful of 6011 rod welding for a half-inch or so then we'd peen the dogslobber out of that fresh weld with his slag hammer to keep it from cracking out again. Once the repair was completed the engine was re-assembled, the radiator filled with a witches-brew of well-water and stop-leak and the serious hooliganism began, the two of us brothers secretly terrorizing the neighborhood until Grandpa caught wind of our nefarious activities, the car regrettably sold in an effort to keep us from becoming career criminals. (Ah, the good-old days!)

 

I figured I'd update this post. I've been driving my '53 all year since repairing this crack, around 800 miles (hey, I have quite a few cars to drive). I did have to extend my repair a little past the visible crack after my initial post and pressure test it again, and it held 19 psi for hours. Ten months later, there's still no sign of a coolant leak, although I did have to really flush out the draft tube because there was years of moisture/oil vapor sludge plugging it up. It's amazing how sick an old car can be and still run decently well.

Anyway, I had the valves touched up when the head was off, and I added a Best Gasket "Graph-Tite" head gasket, and the cylinders are all within three pounds of compression (123-126 psi) and the oil pressure is the same as it's ever been. There's a little more blowby than I'd like for an engine with 20,000 miles on it, but it doesn't use much, if any, oil, so I think I'll be good to go until the next crack forms.

Long story short, don't be afraid to use Lock-n-Stitch for a crack in an accessible area.

 

Thanks for the update, glad it worked for you. Your posts may help someone else with the same type of problem.

 

I hope so!

 

They replaced a section of my 392 Hemi block and it has over 2000 miles on it in the Vegas heat with no issues...

 

Water glass was my dads go to fix on leaking tractors, especially during harvest seasons

 

Great job!!