engine filling removal

Hi, i got this 392 hemi that was filled with some kind of epoxy almost to the top,i want to use it on the street.So i need to get rid of this or least a part of it.The filling is easy to drill.I did some search and methyl clhorine is suppose to be effective but impossible to find. will probably try to burn it thru frost plug. Any suggestion ?
Pat

 

Can't help on that. Have you checked to see how much overbore there is? Have heard of blocks that have too big an overbore being filled & raced.

 

Since your description doesn't sound like modern block fillers, I'd suggest breaking loose a small sample to try various nasty liquids on. Go from weak to OMG strength, and when you find something that does a good job of weakening/eroding the stuff, try it on some cast iron. Preferably NOT your good block. Hopefully you can find something that destroys the bad and leaves the good.

 

You could try having the block "baked" by an engine rebuilder. This may destroy the cross-link bond and make it easier to remove This of course, may blow up his oven also.

There are a lot of answers on a google search also.

 

From what I remember from the GOVT Cash for Klunkers deal. Any car turned in had the engine filled with an Epoxy type solution or Sodium Silicate (SiO2/Na2O) so that they could never be used again. Looks like you found one.

 

I know MEK will cut epoxy before it sets,, don't know if it would now. You can get MEK at Home Depot,, paint dept.

 

Apparently epoxy resin breaks down at 350*F. This sounds like the cross link begins to fail at that temp. To add to this, FAA flame testing of CF fails at 350* and becomes part of the flame. I don't know the autoignition temp of the epoxy so it may require an open flame (continuous ???) to get complete ashing. Also the gas off during the FAA testing is known hazardous, but appropriate breathing cartridges are available

 

I think you meant Methylene chloride. It is the major effective ingredient in aircraft paint stripper. Talstrip and others designed to break down epoxy and other caytalized compounds should be effective.

Drill some holes and fill them with stripper then wrap it in a couple layers of yard trash bags for a few hours. Scrape and repeat.....

Could also have the block baked out. The epoxy should break down around 400f alon with paint.

 

They put ground glass in the oil & ran them till they siezed.

 

And they also didn't accept anything more than 25 years old. So, since that was 2009, the OLDEST car they would accept was a 1984.

So, no, that's not what's going on here. This block had its water jackets filled to strengthen the bottom end for racing.

Bake until done.

But before you spend too much time on it, you might want to check the bore to make sure you're not going to need 8 sleeves too...

 

Hi, thanks for all the respond,the bore are .040 and in great shape.I will bring it to my machinist to have it bake,and magnaflux.
Pat

 

MEK= Methyl ethyl ketones = nasty stuff, eats paint, bondo, cloths, linoleum, etc...
Might work.

 

ONE drop in your eye, instant blindness! wear goggles at least.

 

Also destroys your liver and gall bladder!

 

They used to fill blocks way back when, in order to strengthen it for drag racing. If yours was used that way, it could be full of micro-cracks and was retired after so many runs.

 

Good luck getting that out. A lot of different things were used to fill blocks from grout like hard blok to bowling ball hole filler. If it was raced you can bet it got a lot hotter than 350 degrees. It's not just going to melt out.

 

pq55 let us know how this all works out. I don't think you expected the filler to melt and just run out...it would have to been a thermoset plastic . Anyway I'm optimistic for you.

 

my two cents, is to sell it before you stuff it trying to remove the block filler, when the filler is applied it generally contracts a small amount requiring to be honed again, if the material is then removed if successful the bore will not be round and require work again.
if it is not cracked in the webbing or pan rail you may get a reasonable dollar from someone doing a cacklecar.

 

Not even close, they replaced the oil with that stuff or added it to the oil and then ran the engines until they locked up.

That block might well be a lot better used in an FE dragster or altered as a cacklefest engine rather than trying to put it on the street. Some things weren't meant to be.