So I was disassembling my engine today when a bolt broke loose a little easier than I though and once a figured out what happened I was looking at the corner where the intake manifold bolts up broke off. Is this something a professional welder can build up so I can re-machine it, drill and tap the mount hole again. We have a guy build up our tooling at work all the time so we can re-machine it but it was never a 60 year old cast engine block, always machined tool steel. Fingers crossed I guess, oh and sorry for the crappy photos.
Cast Iron is a bit tricky the part must be orange hot before any welding my vote says Elco welding in Venice talk to Mark or Bob or Kelly Block welding Culver city
I think it would be cheaper to shop around and find another one,,by the time is welded back together and then ground and re-drilled your goning to have a pricy shop bill! HRP
Maybe someone with a Henrob could do it. I never used mine for that kind of thing yet. http://www.cut-like-plasma.com/info_welding_cast_iron.htm Jdee
For a bit of encouragement. I would sandblast the corner, build it up/fill in with a MIG, regular wire. set it up in a bridgeport, surface it, drill and tap. I've been welding broken cast for 30 years with MIG. IT WORKS. No shit. Frank
I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking at, BUT, there may be enough other mounting holes to seal the thing without that one lonely hole. Any better pics, or explanation of wht we're seeing? IE- some Pontiac exhaust manifolds don't have an outer bolt hole in the cylinder head, and seal just fine
do not mig it!! there are special procedures for cast iron...prepping is a big one. preheat then use a oxy/acy. setup, henrob torch or not, to braze it in...i can't think off of the top of my head what rod you will wanna use (someone help me out), but yes this is do-able, but like stated it might be as much to get it repaired as it would be to buy a new one
Not a problem. Nickel Arc rod works great for that,I'm sure there are other methods. Your guy should know what to do,or who to give it to. DEFINITELY easier and cheaper than finding another one.
i have a guy that does all my cast and never had any problem later. temp is critical so is cooling afterwards. he also does all the repair work for the herold lemay museum in tacoma wa. if it is critical part find someone who knows cast welding.
Years ago before I knew the things guys are telling you here about how hard it is to do, I welded lots of cast iron with nickel rods and my stick welder. Veed the area, pre-heated it with a torch and welded it. Packed it in sand to cool. After cooling I used a disc grinder to shape it and retapped any holes. I had no milling machine or other fancy tools so I made do. Some of the things I welded included Starter noses, blocks, water pumps,bellhousings etc. I dont recall any failing, and I was just a hobbiest never was a pro.
On the outside like that you don't need to preheat the casting. It may help to get good penetration preheating it. If it was inside of the structure of the casting you would have to preheat it. Nickle rod and a stick welder will do the trick. Grind and file it flat and you will be good to go. Nickle and cast can be hard to tap threads into, but you don't have many choices. Jeff
Mcmaster Carr has carbon rods, (graphite) that can be threaded and screwed into the hole BEFORE welding, then theres no need to tap it, the threads will be formed when you weld around the hole. Its kinda pricey but worth it simply because after its welded you dont have to worry about the tap breaking off, or pushing the newly repaired chunk back off. search for carbon rods, or graphite rods
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