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Re: hairline crack in block....help!
#11
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Packard Don
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Cracks like that are relatively easy to deal with without any welding, by sleeving the cylinder and putting in a new valve seat. I have driven Packards many thousands of trouble-free miles after doing just that.

Posted on: 2016/10/14 22:27
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Re: hairline crack in block....help!
#12
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custo eight
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I have found a shop four hours from home that will pin the crack. I understand that is preferable to welding. They will then have to re-sleeve the cylinder and dress the valve seat. They repair big diesel blocks with all the loads and compression that implies. They also have rebuilt Packard engines in the past and are somewhat familiar with the issue. Driving it there next Wednesday. Admittedly, there are no guarantees, however, the car will not likely see the same mileage or years within my lifetime. Then my sons can deal with any issues (paybacks are hell...LOL).
Fish n' Jim. I considered looking for another block but would have to get to this point in the rebuild to see if there is a flaw. Not that many of them out there either and seem to be in demand for the "street rod guys". I also see the vertical line in the cylinder wall that looks a bit suspicious but there seem to be 3-4 of those that run perfectly vertical and parallel. Might be minor scores left in the wall from boring 030 over standard. They could be holding milling oil lubricant. Will definitely check into that further. Might end up sleeving that cylinder. Thanks for all of the input and suggestions. The engine is actually the first thing I tried to sort out. It has been a long ordeal giving up on three shops that were to get it running. The present engine rebuild shop looks very promising but they were upfront with their limitations on repairing the crack. Seems a dieing art...whether welding or pinning. Will keep everyone in the loop

Posted on: 2016/10/15 9:25
Where principles are involved, be deaf to expediency. (Matthew Fontaine Maury 18th century oceanographer)
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Re: hairline crack in block....help!
#13
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Highlander160
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Might be able to lace it. Similar to pinning, you get the smallest cast iron plugs you can find. Drill and tap a single hole and thread the new plug in place leaving some measure above the surface. That gets ground down flat and becomes part of the block. The next hole goes about 1/3 or more into that 1st plug and you do it again, and again, and again until the crack has been completely plugged/laced. At that point a new vale seat and sleeve and let it eat. Just for peace of mind, once it's all done get a proven quality block sealant and add it to the 1st fill of coolant just for an extra measure of protection. Many an old block has gone 10s of thousands of miles with such a repair. Your results may vary, tax n title extra, void where prohibited, no purchase necessary, see your retailer for details...

Posted on: 2016/10/15 14:13
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Re: hairline crack in block....help!
#14
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custo eight
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Highlander.....not sold in eckards or your local dodds...Avoid COD charges ........roflol.
Anyway, I believe that is what the machine shop plans to do. One guy who welds cast iron engine blocks in Goldsboro NC did finally give me a call back. Hopefully, the pinning/lacing will do the trick. if not....anyone got a 502 bow tie block lying around as a door stop/paper weight
???

Posted on: 2016/10/16 14:42
Where principles are involved, be deaf to expediency. (Matthew Fontaine Maury 18th century oceanographer)
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Re: hairline crack in block....help!
#15
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Fish'n Jim
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Good luck.
Don't want to do all that, spend $$$, and put back and find problems inside later. Now's the time. Make sure they dye penetrant test the whole block. Where's there's one...
Or you can do what they used to do, put a some "additives" in and sell it fast!
They should've honed the cylinders after boring so to have vertical lines would not be expected. If what looks like a crack in cylinder is not and a "groove" from machining somethings not right.
No 502 but maybe able to fix you up with a lo miles 288 L8! Great boat anchor.

Posted on: 2016/10/22 9:37
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Re: hairline crack in block....help!
#16
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custo eight
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update....
block is at engine shop in Charlotte who is familiar with pinning and lacing engine blocks. They will sleeve the cylinder after pinning just to make sure. Fish'n Jim, the cylinders have been honed as evidenced by the markings on all cylinder walls. Not sure where the "shadow lines" are but they are there in most if not all cylinders. Could be removal of hone device making vertical striations. Have not tried wiping them clean. They certainly are not perfectly parallel cracks.
Interesting observation when removing the block from the back of my expedition. In the bright sunlight, it was obvious the adjacent valve had been pinned in exactly the same area of the valve seat. front to back. That pinning had to be done prior to 1957 when the car came into my family...I was 9 years old. My dad did all of the work on the car, replaced valves while I was still in HS 1965. Drove it in college in 67 and 68 then it was parked. The car was not touched again engine wise until 1987 when he started a rebuild. He was 68 at the time...my age now.
That pin may well have been put in at the factory to correct a casting flaw or shortly there after. It was a low mileage car in 1957 as it had been exclusively a funeral home limo. I believe it had under 30K miles when dad purchased it. Tons of room for speculation, however, after 100008 miles, I guess two cracks isn't too bad given the nature of the beast and the challenges of producing the 356 block.

Posted on: 2016/10/23 11:17
Where principles are involved, be deaf to expediency. (Matthew Fontaine Maury 18th century oceanographer)
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Re: hairline crack in block....help!
#17
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Fish'n Jim
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U raise a good point was it done at the factory?
Years of cyclical stresses and then one day it's there. It might have had a small crack there with the other spot but it wasn't noticed. I don't think they had a good method before magnaflux.
ps: cracks can be hard to see why I recommend the dye penetrant. eg; A spare motor I bought as rebuilt was resleeved in 3 cylinders by another engine shop, but my engine builder found a fourth bad one. It didn't show up until he cleaned it. There's plenty of good engine shops in the Charlotte area with the NASCAR business. I'm 8 miles from city limits.

Posted on: 2016/10/30 19:53
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Re: hairline crack in block....help!
#18
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custo eight
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Thanks, Jim....
I figured there would be plenty of engine machine shops in that area for the reason you mentioned...NASCAR and "motor heads". The shop did find two more small cracks either by magnafluxing or dye testing. They are repairing them all...I hope. They are also removing the counterweights, turning the crank and reinstalling the weights. Wish I had found them at the outset. Now some pieces and parts are in a engine shop in Conway, SC, Some in Charlotte and some in my shop getting cleaned up and ready for paint. Ack.....stay tuned for more.....

Posted on: 2016/10/31 10:35
Where principles are involved, be deaf to expediency. (Matthew Fontaine Maury 18th century oceanographer)
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