Repair quality?

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Can this be reliably repaired?Looks to me as if it was repaired on a lift because he missed the bottom, I now have all the suspension out I can get both hands in there with good visibilityHow was this repaired before mig tig? I'm not a welder
Reply:Did you replace the connecting rod that made the hole yet?
Reply:Welcome to the forum, Sparky.Let me give you the bad news first and the details later. In order to weld it properly you'll have to completely disassemble the block, then soak it with alcohol, then bake out whatever's left.THEN you might get a good weld in there. In that case you're better off swapping the engine outright.  You may be able to find a brave soul willing to try TIG welding it as-is.  Poor results are likely. Aluminum expands a lot when heated so you might warp the block or make existing cracks a lot bigger.Any repair you attempt should be considered a temporary fix only. Start saving your money and swap the engine out.===>I'd recommend cleaning the surface off with brake cleaner, then get some epoxy putty and try to seal the hole.Problem #1 is it's completely contaminated with oil.  Aluminum doesn't respond well to welding unless it's nice and clean. What it looks like is that there might've been a layer of weld sitting on top of that hole. But it suffered from almost complete lack of fusion, and just fell off later. There's some obvious lack of fusion in the existing weld, and that's only the part that you CAN see. There's probably plenty more underneath. Kind of stuff that happens when you try welding dirty aluminum.Which is to say, the block is worth more money as scrap metal, unless it's a limited production run. When I was a bit younger, I worked at a little hole-in-the-wall welding shop. The place was a deathtrap and the owner was a complete screwball. Which is why he was willing to take on jobs on a basis of "weld first and then ask questions."  One day someone brought him a big cast Al oil pan from semi tractor engine, with a big crack running down the front main seal.  He gets in an argument with the senior welder, then tells him to do the best he can. the senior welder grinds the hell out of it, then puts a heating torch on it to try to cook the oil out of the crack. Then he starts TIG welding it, after about five minutes, there's a big "clunk" and the oil pan breaks into two pieces from all the thermal stress. Anyway.....
Reply:Good luck with that one
Reply:I could fix it but why bother? The cost of doing it right would be a good percentage of what another block would cost.Two turn tables and a microphone.
Reply:Originally Posted by 76GMC1500Did you replace the connecting rod that made the hole yet?
Reply:Originally Posted by JoshfromsaltlakeWelcome to the forum, Sparky.Let me give you the bad news first and the details later. In order to weld it properly you'll have to completely disassemble the block, then soak it with alcohol, then bake out whatever's left.THEN you might get a good weld in there. In that case you're better off swapping the engine outright.  You may be able to find a brave soul willing to try TIG welding it as-is.  Poor results are likely. Aluminum expands a lot when heated so you might warp the block or make existing cracks a lot bigger.Any repair you attempt should be considered a temporary fix only. Start saving your money and swap the engine out.===>I'd recommend cleaning the surface off with brake cleaner, then get some epoxy putty and try to seal the hole.Problem #1 is it's completely contaminated with oil.  Aluminum doesn't respond well to welding unless it's nice and clean. What it looks like is that there might've been a layer of weld sitting on top of that hole. But it suffered from almost complete lack of fusion, and just fell off later. There's some obvious lack of fusion in the existing weld, and that's only the part that you CAN see. There's probably plenty more underneath. Kind of stuff that happens when you try welding dirty aluminum.Which is to say, the block is worth more money as scrap metal, unless it's a limited production run. When I was a bit younger, I worked at a little hole-in-the-wall welding shop. The place was a deathtrap and the owner was a complete screwball. Which is why he was willing to take on jobs on a basis of "weld first and then ask questions."  One day someone brought him a big cast Al oil pan from semi tractor engine, with a big crack running down the front main seal.  He gets in an argument with the senior welder, then tells him to do the best he can. the senior welder grinds the hell out of it, then puts a heating torch on it to try to cook the oil out of the crack. Then he starts TIG welding it, after about five minutes, there's a big "clunk" and the oil pan breaks into two pieces from all the thermal stress. Anyway.....
Reply:Originally Posted by PangeaI could fix it but why bother? The cost of doing it right would be a good percentage of what another block would cost.
Reply:Suggestion for the gypsy way.......grind it a bit to roughen it up ... maybe something to get into the holes.....DEGREASE with break cleaner   do it again    no oil anywhere    use jb weld   its the best there is   good luck
Reply:One note on epoxy or any kind of glue with aluminum.   Not only do you need to get them clean but you also need to break through the oxide layer that forms on the surface (kind of like welding). One trick to do this is to put a little of the glue that you're using on the piece and sand through the glue leaving it on the piece and adding more to the top. This will abrade the oxides off and if you leave the glue on not allow any more to form (which happens almost instantly when exposed to air).Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm