Anybody ever use lock and stitch method to repair a cracked block? Bet customer is now thinking anti freeze would have been cheap. This is a allas chalmers DD 6 cyl diesel.
I have had it done on an old M Farmall head with success. If the crack is external, how about welding it? My father and I have fixed several this way using I think nickel welding rods. Clean the crack and vee it out, then weld an inch or less, let cool, peen with air chisel to relieve stress, then weld some more. It is very slow, but can be done in frame and has saved several blocks for him and I over the years. Finish the job off with a can or few of KW Block Seal. I'm sure others on here have had way more experience with this method.
I've got a 6-71 NA in a 1980 Ford truck I'd sell pretty cheap. Runs great, leaks oil too. Don't have to change oil near as often though. I wouldn't be afraid to take off to Kansas in it tomorrow. Not sure how involved your repair will be. I've seen Lock N Stitch repairs only in pictures.
Yair . . . we "fixed" HD21 blocks with plates shaped from 1/8" sheet and attached with 1/4" countersunk screws drilled and tapped into the block on about 1" centres . . . depends how it is damaged of course, our fix was just to hold the oil in and it held up very well. Cheers.
Customer wants me to jb weld it. Told him no. Gonna let it thow out and clean up to see how big crack is. What saw today it is Atleast 4 in long and crooked.
Ive done a cracked water jacket or 2 with small (3/32") 7018 rod. Grind out to a nice round bottom groove, Preheat as much as you think you can, weld a bit and peen,repeat as needed. Stop drill at the end of the crack too. Maybe Ive just been lucky, I cant remember exactly how I did them. One was a horizontal crack on a john deere block and sealed up fine.
I worked at a place that let a D8 freeze up. It took most of that winter to weld up all the cracks even the pony motor needed alot of welding. I used a mig to weld it up and when i was done they got me some sticks of stuff that you rubed on the hot weld to sill it up. It work good but it had a bent rod when they got it and they straightned it and the first job it went out on the rod bent and made a hole in the block.
Moonlite, I have stitched up blocks, the Metal lock stitching kit is fairly cheap and easy to use with good tips etc on its use and how to do it, I have also put in patch plates both stitched and bolted, plus I have done the weld up thing, but the easiest way is with J.B. Weld it costs minimal coins and realy works well and lasts for years, do as the customer asks/suggests then if its no good you can play about with the other methods, a smashed block or cracked block will always be a damaged item, so start off with the cheap cure you might be glad of it. tctractors
I did a REO gold comet with epoxy and aluminum foil. Once froze there is always some other damage.
Seen some guys do this in a cast iron block in a Volvo truck. The crack started at the sump gasket grove and went 3 inches up, did a nice job and it didn't leak. Remember the guy telling me he runs a tap down each hole no matter what size, as will give a neater tighter fix.
I'm not familiar with the lock and stitch method. Does anybody have any pictures?
Here's an example on their website: http://www.locknstitch.com/Repair pdf files/Custom truck with cracked 5.9 block.pdf I'd think you'd be pretty intimate with your drill before you were done.
Since its a detroit I would change out the engine/block. Now if it was an obsolete engine I would repair it. Cronatron makes some low amp welding rod for cast, works great.
You know some might consider a 6-71 to qualify for "obsolete" That being said I would say just about any place that deals in older equipment or over the road truck parts would have a stack of them available. Probably take less time to pull engine and swap over good parts to the "new" block and reinstall than drilling and tapping all those holes. Also a lot more fun
I dont think that it would be real easy to find a 6-71. Alot of them were replaced on stuff that was in use years ago. I haul scrap iron and work on trucks and i havent seen one in years. I had a chanes to buy a versatile with a bad 855 and i got to thinking it would not be easy to find 2 855 cummims around here that are in use.
That might be true about the Detroits but if anyone is interested there is a Yahoo Group devoted to them that is pretty active: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DetroitDiesel/info The company I work for has at least two Detroit powered cranes. One a Grove Rough Terrain with a 6V-53 and a P&H with a 8V-92 truck engine and I believe a 6V-53 in the upper. Just over a year ago I rebuilt a little 3-53 in a genset. A sister plant in western NY has a rebuilt 16V-71 and a couple smaller ones on the shelf. Hate to think but they will probably end up in a load of your scrap someday. As for the 855 at our plant we sold off the last one we had in a 550 Dresser last fall. It and the loader were both running fine when it went to a small father and son business near Rhinebeck NY. As a matter of fact I believe the Mack truck that hauled it away was powered by an 855 Cummins! Nothing against "progress" but hate to see the old workhorses that built so much of what we have to day be reduced to the scrap heap.
Hear,Hear! long live the 2 stroke Detriot.
Its hard for me to see so much stuff that i can remember useing or seeing used being scraped. It seens like any thing that is not computorised is obsolete and most young guys ack like that old stuff never was any good. Years ago i worked in a shop that repaired old stuff any thing from rebuilding a engine to machineing a part for something that parts were no longer made. One of the regulars that stoped by from time to time was a older guy said to me you could go any were and get a job with all you know.I thought yea it would have to be a museum.
I wish there was a museum that needed that kind of work near here would be fun to get paid to work on that old equipment after I retire in a year or so. Would be glad to work at half my current pay rate to do it.
There is a huge market in my area for anyone who can work on the old stuff. I'm 33 and hate the newer computerized junk. My second and hopefully soon to be fulltime job is keeping the older machinery running and can't keep up with the demand. Computers are for office work, not playing in the dirt. I started to have a laugh and ask a Cat tech working on a newer machine at my current full time job where to plug his computer into my old D6C which runs just fine without all the electronic crap. May have to break out the gauges to see what's wrong but no dealer only testing. We have tractors built in the '60's that I would put in the field beside the new ones and they will still be around when all the plastic fantastic are parked.
Another cracked block . Different customer on his personal truck. I guess eventually they will learn to put antifreeze in instead of just adding water .
Nothing like a screaming jimmy
Seems some folk have great success with brazing cast iron. Personally I have always stick welded it but would love to try brass. The majority of welders have never welders haven't welded cast. Metal is always easier to weld flat. Weld castof outta position like vertical same procedure holds. Clean. Drill ends of cracks. Thin grinding wheel to say half depth. with brass brazen as same process as stick......pre heat.....good... brazen about one inch then....medium tap with chipper to stress releive. Weld another inch relieve and another inch. Engine cast iron temp overall should also be kinda warm keep warming it if you have to. For instance say 180. Degrees Fahrenheit in the repair area and 120 overall. Cover with lots of pink insulation during cool down time. cooling down slowly is important and summer is easier than winter. Good luck!
Are the lock and stitch bolts just like a 5/16 or 3/8 grade2 or something special i have never seen that done before but could definately have used it a time or two. If they are special bolts where could you buy them
Moonlite, how about a few snaps of your repair work, so we can learn something??? tctractors
The lock/stitch ones I have are cast iron, when I did a head crack I dipped them in ceramic seal and screwed them in. 25 years ago, its still running. And my co worker has a 6-71 block, just sayin. And the sad part is when scrap went thru the roof most GOOD old iron went to china.
Didn't take pics . Gave customer several options for repair. He went for j b weld and kW block sealer. Talked to him a few days ago. He said has put only a few hrs on it. So time will tell.