# Anybody ever fixed a cracked engine block with JB weld?



## Guest

OK, the engine block seems to be cracked on the Volvo.  So before we call the junk yard, I see that the JB weld site and the quicksteel site both mention fixing cracked engine blocks as something they do. anybody ever actually done that or know someone who did? I did use quicksteel to repair a hole in the metal of a refrigerator freezer box. The refrigeration guy assured me it was nonfixable, and wouldn't work. I tried it anyway and had him fill it back with freon...been working for three years so far. It is worth a try anyway, I won't haver that much to lose and much to gain. 
Empress


----------



## comfortablynumb

whats the block made of.... iorn or aluminum?
you can try brazing with a special alloy like this;

http://newtechnologyproducts.net/hts528.htm


----------



## Oxankle

I am a big fan of JB weld. If you can get to the cracks (and are sure that all the cracks are external, not internal) you should be able to repair the engine. Clean it off well, grind out the cracks a bit and fill them with JB Weld. Let it cure and you should be good to go. Also, a good welder can braze the block if he can get to the cracks. The max pressure is going to be about l4 pounds so the job does not have to be all that stout. (We are assuming here that this is a cast iron engine.)

If the alternative is junking the car/engine, what have you to lose?


----------



## Guest

There is an old trick where you use witch hazel to fix freeze crack in cast iron blocks, but you first have to make sure that every bit of antifreeze is out of the system, perhaps someone else will know more about this fix.


----------



## johnkl

Volvos have cast iron blocks as far as I know. JB weld should work. If its just a hairline crack that "weeps" coolant an even easier fix would be radiator stop leak, Bars-Leak to be exact. I had an old Chevy truck with a cracked block and head that would weep coolant. One application of bars leak did the job for several years. When you change the coolant, if you do, replace the bars leak if the leak returns.


----------



## Shrek

I fixed a dragstrip nova with JB and raced it all season.


----------



## Guest

If the crack is on the block and is not at the mating surface of your exhaust manifold, yes it will work. There are many cold weld products out there some are imo better than JB for ease of use but it will work.( I don't like quicksteel)
Make sure you clean the area off completely removing any paint,grease, oil,anti-freeze and so on. Allow weld to harden overnight before usage!!
I have used cold welds on engines and sterndrive boat tranny's and have worked well if applied properly and given ample time to harden. A competent welder can also repair this for you as was mentioned by a previous poster.
Is this a coolant passage leak?? If so was it caused by freeze cracking??
If it was make sure you replace your coolant!! Good luck!


----------



## Stray Cat

Ensure the crack(s) are very clean and dry along with the sorrounding area's. JB weld works well and should do the trick nicely. Have used it on 600 lb. steam systems that are still holding up well. You really have nothing to lose.


----------



## Guest

Unregistered said:


> If the crack is on the block and is not at the mating surface of your exhaust manifold, yes it will work. There are many cold weld products out there some are imo better than JB for ease of use but it will work.( I don't like quicksteel)"
> 
> Could you be a bit more specific with the better product selections and why? From reading the site information it appears Quicksteel has slightly better specifications on some things, so I wondered if they had a downside? The auto parts store had a new product by the Bars folks, but it required draing and filling and draining and filling the engine, seemed like more trouble and more expensive than repairing from the outside where the crack can be seen.
> The new stuff isn't even listed on their web site, the auto store just got it in and said no one here has tried it. Anybody think of a reason I can't try both? I'm thinking we try to fix the leak externally and then after that cures run the internal stuff in case we missed somthing.


----------



## Guest

Horse pucky. If you are going to wind up scraping the car out to a salvage yard you might give the old old remedy of adding horse manure to the radiator. 

The fine fibers of the digested material will cog/block the leak and seal it off. How much do you put in? Just enough to do the job without creating other flow problems. Haven't a clue in other words.


----------



## heelpin

Yes, you can repair cracked blocks and get years of service from it, I've done it a number of times. If the crack is just on the water jackets and is large you can drain some of the water out, pack the large cracks with cotton, when the engine is hot pour the metalic block seal in the radiator and let the engine idle until the leaking stops, shut off the engine and drain water out making sure you get it all out, let it set up all night before using. This also works for inside cracks that lets water get into the crankcase. You can use the JB weld to smooth it out and shore up on the outside, this is good stuff but have to be sure the surface is ultra clean, I use hot soapy water and then sand lightly before applying.
I have a 1963 Deisel tractor that has been running since 1972 with a patched block, inside crack and outside. The water jacket seeps a little sometimes but no big problem. If you fix it and decide to sell, do the right thing and tell the buyer.


----------



## almostthere

Well I don't know about engines, but I do know that my dh lives on JB Weld and duct tape. He used jb weld and bread ties to fix my glasses-but b/c I needed a new rx anyway I only wore them a week. He used jb and duct tape to fix my passanger side mirror on my neon-lasted 3 years. He used the tape only to hold it until it was dry. He uses JB on just about everything.


----------



## Guest

Could you be a bit more specific with the better product selections and why? 
Well not really, I used quicksteel on a radiator before and I just didn't like it and sometimes JB can be a little hard to grip. The Quicksteel DID WORK on a rather large hole I just didn't like working with it. I really shouldn't have knocked it because it did work.
Any good two part epoxy with a 2-5 minute work time will work. I recently used a 60 sec set epoxy to repair a copper water pipe, hot water side of the line. It was at a fitting connection and was not something I felt like taking apart and doing the right way (not my house) So I used epoxy and was done in 3 minutes. Hasn't leaked in months. If you can find MARINE-TEX that is pretty good and is what I've used for stern-drive repair. Its like JB but has a better initial hold. I would say go ahead and use a small amount of a stiffer epoxy like JB or quicksteel to FILL the crack let it harden and then bolster the outside of it with a more liquid epoxy. Bars leak will work for GASKET and PIN-HOLE leaks only, Horse manure is for fertlizing( unless you want to plant flowers in your engine ) Just try it, the AREA MUST BE DRY AND CLEAN or it will not work.


----------



## chickflick

Did it, worked for a while... just fix it right the first time. 1991 Ranger still sitting in yard... HOWEVER.. if you just want the vehicle for farm use, etc... I'd say do it. Just don't go too far in too hot of weather.


----------



## southerngurl

I was just reading a organic gardening from 1977. Here is a letter that was in it, odd, but interesting. I have zero knowledge on vehicles and what not, boring. 

Dear Editor,
Last October I hadn't put antifreeze in my Satoh 650 tractor, and when the temperature dropped to 19*, the engine block cracked. Not wanting to spend $250 for a new head for the moreor or $19 for a fast welding job, I took a friend's advice and fixed the crack using the whites of two eggs and half a can of condensed milk! I mixed the milk and eggs together, poured the mixture into the radiator, whick still had some water in it, and let the tractor idle for about and hour. the milk makes the sides of te crack sticky, and the egg wites stick to it. The hotter the eggs get, the the harder they get until they're hard as rocks. Six months later my tractor doesn't leak one drop of water in the oil and it has run as good as new. It sounds unbelievable, but it works and if it worked for my cracked head, it should work on any tractor.

Roy S. Gordy
Ringgold, Georgia


----------



## cowgirlone

Haven't tried it on a cracked block, but DH used it to seal a cracked radiator on the pickup. Lasted over a year!


----------



## rkintn

Hubby used JB to fix a leak on the radiator of our 73 Olds with a 455 engine. Haven't had a bit of problem since and it runs like a charm.


----------



## HermitJohn

First choice weld it with nickle rod. Second choice is to weld it with nickle rod. You can try epoxies and may work for while. If just a seep or getting white smoke, drain your radiator, rinse your cooling system with water to get out all antifreeze. Use the old egg glass stuff, sometimes called liquid glass. Probably called something else in auto store, but it will be clear and probably have glass in name. Can buy it cheapest at pottery supply, think they use it as some sort of mold release or something, but easiest just to stop at AutoZone or wherever and pay the $6 for little bottle. It will be about most expensive radiator seal on shelf. Dont know why as its pretty cheap chemical. Add the jar of this to radiator and fill up with water. Run until leak stops and no white vapor from exhaust, making sure you dont run the cooling system dry in the process. Can leave it like this during summer if you want, but when you need antifreeze again, drain the system and rinse before adding antifreeze. This stuff reacts with antifreeze, but what has already hardened to fill crack wont react. 

I've seen old tractors go years and years using egg glass and my neighbor, Chuck the drunk, drove some little GM car with quad four engine for months after using this stuff, then sold it to a relative. I imagine he forgot to mention that he had used liquid glass in radiator. Hope they drained it before adding antifreeze for winter.


----------



## j.r. guerra in s. tx.

The author of the book _How to Live Well On Virtually Nothing_, Edward H. Romney, claimed that J.B. can fix this and more. I don't remember the details, but I do seem to remember that a cracked engine block was fixed using this stuff.

Here is a web page of the author:

http://www.paladin-press.com/authormo_1201.aspx

I hope this helps.


----------



## Stray Cat

Unregistered User...Belzona is a better product, better than JB weld. And why...molecular metal can be machined. Such as turned, drilled, ground, milled. But very expensive.


----------



## terri46355

JB weld is a great way to fix almost anything. 

I had a Dodge Colt that had been in a wreck with a deer. It wasn't worth the amount a new head gasket cost, so I sealed the head with JB weld. It didn't leak any oil after that and I sold it to someone who drove it another 2 - 3 years. 

I had a Mazda GLC that had a leak in the gas tank. Again JB weld fixed the problem. The floor rotted out and the carpet caught fire before the gas tank leaked again.

Try it.

PS. If a woman with no mechanical background can use it, you can, too!


----------



## agmantoo

OK, the engine block seems to be cracked on the Volvo.

With the problem not fully verified as per the above posted sentence and your desire to fix the Volvo here are my suggestions.
1) use the Bar's Leak product first and fully follow the instructions. This product should stop the leak regardless of its location and accessibility. Additionally , it will not rule out the use of other products should you want to try them in addition.
2) to mend the crack from the outside you must be able to access the area and it must not be in an area of high temperature when using the expoxies. I prefer the Marine Tex or the JB Weld but both are good products. Marine Tex comes in a larger amount and is cheaper.
3) to weld the block can run into lots of money and you could wake up the devil if the problem is in a difficult or inaccessible area. 

In conclusion, it will only cost a few bucks regardless of the complexity of the damage to perform the first repair and you should know in a short time as to the success. That would be my choice.


----------



## johnkl

Thaks for that post agmantoo. For unregistered, I used Bars-Leak as I described and it worked as I said it did. It may not work for this particular application but it most definitely did work for mine and it held up for many years.


----------



## pokey

Unregistered said:


> OK, the engine block seems to be cracked on the Volvo.  So before we call the junk yard, I see that the JB weld site and the quicksteel site both mention fixing cracked engine blocks as something they do. anybody ever actually done that or know someone who did? I did use quicksteel to repair a hole in the metal of a refrigerator freezer box. The refrigeration guy assured me it was nonfixable, and wouldn't work. I tried it anyway and had him fill it back with freon...been working for three years so far. It is worth a try anyway, I won't haver that much to lose and much to gain.
> Empress


clean it good with a wirebrush, sandpaper whatever. i'm assuming it's just a water leak. wash it with starting fluid. that will clean off any oil residue.
smear some jb weld in it, let it cure. if all else fails, sodium silicate in the radiator,(liquid glass) it'll seal from the inside. for small leaks i use prestone super sealer, it's the stuff that looks like snot. it does better than anything i have used. ground pepper from the kitchen also works with small leaks when put in the radiator. 

i've never jerry rigged anything before.  

pokey


----------



## stonefly71

iIf it's on the water side just use a product called water glass or also called aqua glass. You can pick it up as a drug store for like 6 bucks a jar. I've used it on a few blocks with a cracked head does fine.


----------

