Frozen engine block

[Dan-IA]

I figure if Lanse can tear down an engine, I should be able to too. I have an old Farmall M sitting around. It had water freeze inside the block. Is there any way to repair an engine block that's been froze and broke?

 

[IaGary]

Midwest Cylinder Head in Nevada Ia can answer your question.

They fixed a 414 out of a 966 IH in 1978 that had a baseball size hole where a rod came out.

Could hardly tell where the repair was done.

It may be cheaper to find a used block.

Gary

 

[Bob Huntress]

If when you say that the engine is frozen, you mean that the engine is stuck, you can inject a few squirts of Kerosene in each of the cylinders and often let them sit a few days, then try working them free by manually jacking the engine back and forth until it is free. When I say, "back and forth," I mean rock it in the direction of it's rotation, and relax pressure, as opposed to turning the engine in reverse. If there is a crack in the block or head, from freezing, in most cases, it can be welded with a high nickle rod. You may want to send it to a welding shop for that, though. If you have damaged cylinders, they can be sleeved by a machine shop. There is no end to the extend that an engine can be brought back from, if the engine holds enough value to you.

 

[Goose]

When I was a kid, my dad had an old Fordson that threw a rod and put a 2 inch hole in the side of the block. It didn't seem to have hurt the crank.

My dad just bolted a steel plate over the hole, put a new rod on the one cylinder and went back to work.

Unfortunately, when a water jacket cracks, it's not that simple.

 

[Dan-IA]

It was a good working tractor but had only water in it, no antifreeze. Then it wasn't drained in time for the first hard freeze. I don't know the actual extent of the damage.

 

[noncompos]

If it's just cracked on the outside, it can probably be welded, as Bob says, depending on the metallurgy of the block (if it's relatively minor, since it's not a pressure system, you might be able to rig a patch yourself) but you need to tear it down to see what you find inside before you spend any money on it.
+

 

[JoshuaGA]

I don't know about welding. Cast parts, especially cast iron, cracks when heated in a localized spot. If you just take a rod to it, I bet the crack jist moves somewhere else. At the least, it needs to be heated everywhere surronding the crack, welded while hot, and be allowed to cool extremely slow. Dad lost a good 504 to a bad block, and IH did not supply any new 504 engines, so the tractor was traded. If it is a sleeve, just resleeve it. If it is the block, and it isn't highly pressurized, cold weld aka JB Weld may be best. Then again, if it was an M, a block or even an entire engine may be the cheapest and most economical choice, especially for a working tractor.

JoshuaGA