So i spent the past 3 years building this flathead. Doing all the homework and finding a choice block (or so i thought). This flathead ran a back-up generator in a hotel in PA until the 70s. Hours meter on the generator said 700 hours! (even had a maintenance ticket signed at 650 hours in 1969) When i brought it to the machine shop they said it did not even need to be bored, they could still see the hone marks from the factory.(i bored it .030 anyway) SCORE! So block in hand, the build started. Got her running about a month ago and things were great. (WERE great) Saturday i had her out when coolant started to POUR out the passenger side exhaust. I figured it was a head gasket...even though it was a pain it would be an easy fix. Removing the head i found the cylinder that was the culprit and put a new gasket on (even though i saw no damage to the original gasket). Started her back up and the same thing happened...coolant everywhere. So i tore into the engine deeper, fearing the worst....a crack that i over looked. Seeing nothing in the cylinder or valve area, i rolled the engine over by hand so i could see into the valve pocket. I found a pool of coolant (oh-shit) I removed the valve to get a better look....then i saw the horror that was looking back at me! a gaping hole in the valve guide bore! So after a tangent of some colorful language (that is still going on some 3 days later)...I thought.... i can fix this...or at least try. So here are some questions Does anyone have any experience fixing something like this? I am making up a brass sleeve that i am planning on pressing in. i am going to ream the valve guide bore 1.035 to true things up and sleeve it with a .0005 press fit bushing. Obviously when i turn down the valve guide to fit, the spring will have to be installed from the bottom side. but a minor issue if it works....fingers crossed. in the end...nothing may work....but i am gonna try. I am a machinist by trade and have access to some cool stuff. The guys at work are trying to help me with opinions....but i am looking for some real world experience fixing stuff like this. Ron
i contacted Locktite, (since i was more confused after i trolled their website)..they said use 620 green. It is good to 300 deg and has the best performance for a cylindrical bond.
I hope that you can get it fixed. Is this an intake valve pocket? Minor backfire with the blower building boost..... could it have found a weak part of the casting? Engine looks great by the way! Good Luck with it.
Yo idiggett, please post this over on the Fordbarn site. I would like to see if some of the old flathead heads there have ever seen this problem before. I think that this must have been some sort of original casting defect and maybe that is why it was selected to be a utility motor versus an auto engine. I know that they sleeve the lifter bosses when in the rare occasion they are worn out so I think your plan of attack is a good one to save an otherwise good block.
I think it might be a defect. If you look at the picture, the casting is about 1/16 of an inch thick. (seems thin) I was running a 7Lb. cap on the radiator. I guess it could not take it and finally quit.
Keep us posted on the fix. I am interested in seeing where this goes and if anyone has ever seen this before. J
The fact that is so circular is strange to me, must have been a defect in the block and like others have said, I think that you found the weakest point in your block.
Did you find the piece of the missing casting? I wonder if it started as a thin area of the casting and then corrosion then further weakened it to the failure point. I asked about weather you found the piece, but also where it was found. Did it go down past the cam into the pan, or did blower pressure push it into the water jacket area? Just curious that is all, I think your repair plan sounds solid, and I really hope that it works for you, and saves a low hour block.
Why not overbore the block and push a larger bushing in, which you can ream to standard size? Then you don't need to mess with the lifter. My machinist did this to a block with damaged lifter bores.
The one constellation that you have going for you is that it is in the intake valve and not in the exhaust. Instead of the Locktite, why not go with the JB Weld marinating that sleeve? If you can get in behind the repair area and goop in some more JB Weld you could strengthen that area and add some thickness. The sandcasting of those years wasn't cutting edge!
i thought about the JB weld route. Almost exactly what alittle1 describes. I think i can snake a coat hanger in behind it to "pat" the JB weld plug into place to add some strength before it is sleeved. alchemy..I thought about opening the hole up and then sleeving it. but i dont think there is enough meat to do it. Look at how thick the casting is in the pic. Any overbore i think will just weaken a weak spot. I am turning the sleeve and will be installing it in the next few days. I am also making a jig that will draw it into place square with a bolt. I am trying to stack the cards in my favor here. I will add some pics and let you know what happens!
The green Locktite is the way to go. If installed to clean surface it will need to be heated to remove it, good stuff. Vergil
I had an older friend who had exactly the same problem with a V8-60 block. He used a sleeve with JB Weld and the engine is running fine years later. I think that you have the right plan and I know that JB weld helped solve his problem.
If you have the valves with no foot on them, I would JB weld the guide in the hole and run it. With that conservative bore, that block should last a young fellow all his life.
maybe consider "strong steel putty" made by "LPS" instead of JB Weld to plug the hole. We use it all the time, you can even drill & machine it! Awesome stuff!
Here is the sleeve i came up with....Locktite should be here tomorrow. Headed out for some JB tonight. all positive thoughts!
You might get a hold of this guy if you have time. Mark Kirby at Motor City Flathead. http://www.motorcityspeedequipment.com/ Butch
the sleeve idea sounds doable,....let us know how that works out,...You may be saving a lot of flatmotor folks from a big headache ! 4TTRUK
The Jalopy Journal
