cracked block

hell-o again question- would it be ok to rebuild a motor that has a crack on outside but does not leak on inside? i would like to hear your opnion on this. thank you rediron

They are able to be repaired. If the crack goes into the interior systems, I would pass on it.
Welding, Overlapping Pins, overlapping plugs, all work. Jim

If this is on an engine with a non-pressurized cooling system there shouldn't be any problem. To stop any weeping at the crack you can vee it out and seal it with silicone or JB Weld.

thank you for your reply; the piticular engine does not have water pump, i think they ( old timers) call it a purculator type. thanks again your friend-- rediron.

You didn't give the model of the tractor. The cooling system is called thermosiphon by IH. The A,B,C,and SA thru SN 356679 have that system. No water pump, but the later models were pressurized. Super A1 and Super C have water pumps.

And I'm guessing about 40% or more of the ABC have a crack in the block in behind the carb. I think all but one of those I've seen west of the Cascades here in WA have that crack, probably because folks didn't use antifreeze. East of the Cascades it's less common to see that crack, because they either used anti-freeze or drained the block every fall.

I have seen quite a few running C-113 blocks with the crack behind the carb as previously stated that have been repaired. I even helped a guy fix one. these are thermosyphon cooling systems and are low pressure (almost no pressure).

the biggest risk is that the head deck on the block will also have a crack running along the water jacket ports. In that case, it is still not necessarily junk, as the head gasket will usually seal that area. In the one that I rebuilt, we used copper gasket seal on the head gasket, and used brass brazing for the outer block crack. It is still running, and only a tiny bit of external weep, and NO leak at the head gasket.

While I am not a huge fan of this, it is an option when your pocketbook is not so deep. You also always run a risk that your efforts will fail or not perform as you had hoped. The interesting thing is that there are alot of blocks out there, currently running, that have the crack along the water port on the head deck on the block. you don't even know it is there until you start having coolant leak into the cylinders. You take the head off, and it is there.

so, as I said, there is always a risk that your repair will not perform well, but it can be done, and it can work out just fine. You will have to make up your own mind on this one.

I have 3 C113's, no cracks (KS).