Crack in block

[Deppo]

:crossfing Oh no! Just went to pick up my battery from the marina that winterized my boat and the mechanic said I have a crack in the motor block.:eek: After he picked me up off of the floor, he said not to worry, it wasn't leaking and it is not in a vulnerable spot(above the starter). 1989 19' Donzi Regazza 4.3 V6 I/O. I bought it used last year and it ran fine the few times I was able to use it. Any suggestions? should I fix the crack, plan on buying a new short block?

[mrfixxall]

first did the same guy winterize it last year???? If not then i would up grade the complete engine to a new vortech 350 crate engine it may be cheeper than a 4.3..gm sells a 330 hp 350... i installed one in my friends celeberty 3 yrs ago and it runs awsome and he picked up 7mph...engine 2600.00
+ tax 7qt oil pan 200.00 ,edlbroch vortech intake 180.00 ,edlbroch 650 cfm marine carb 250.00,merc v8 exhaust manifolds 400.00 and misc goodies 300.00..you may be able to use the 4.3 riserd i have to check the part numbers and labor to r&r and transfer everything 1000.00.......a 4.3 short block may save you a thousand but the 350 will make your ragazza rock........let me know in the spring............

[joseph m. hahnl]

:crossfing Oh no! Just went to pick up my battery from the marina that winterized my boat and the mechanic said I have a crack in the motor block.:eek: After he picked me up off of the floor, he said not to worry, it wasn't leaking and it is not in a vulnerable spot(above the starter). 1989 19' Donzi Regazza 4.3 V6 I/O. I bought it used last year and it ran fine the few times I was able to use it. Any suggestions? should I fix the crack, plan on buying a new short block?


if it doesn't leak oil, anti freeze/water,or create a vacume leak. smear some JB weld on it . start saving for a short block .

joe

[olredalert]

--------If the crack doesnt go all the way thru drill the end of the crack with a small drill to try to stop the crack from travelling. That would be along with the JB, of course!!!!.............Bill S

[MOP]

Leave it alone! Don't panic most of the time cast iron will heal its self just fine! That crack has rusted its self shut, I would forget you even know it is there, hell its been there all summer right! I have found more healed cracked blocks then I can count, I have also purposely filled cracked blocks with salt water. Filling with salt water over a few days/a week will heal all but the most severe cracks. Contrary to what most would believe I have never seen an engine hurt mechanically by a freeze crack.

Phil

[mrfixxall]

i seen 4.3 5,0 5,7 crack internally as a matter of fact i have one at my shop now,,,heads are cracked abd the block is cracked by the lifter valley and by the block drain plugs.......

[Trueser]

I had the same problem on my Searay 4.3. We cleaned it out real good and used JBWELD and never saw a drop.

I would give it a try.

Good Luck

[mrfixxall]

why not trues,,it worked on your gimble housing........

[BUIZILLA]

Caterpillar makes a special two part epoxy...

I have stitched blocks with this stuff, and filled cracks and holes, yes holes, up to 2 foot long.... i've seen CAT engines run for a few thousand extra hours with stitched blocks..

In fact, I split a 707hp V6 Buick block in Englishtown one race weekend, so bad, the 3 freeze plugs on one side fell out at 135 mph, that was a crazy ride... short story is, I came back to the pit's, removed the starter, and epoxied the cracked side of the block, after installing 3 new freeze plugs, and raced not only that weekend, but for 3 or 4 races after that.

JH

[mrfixxall]

Hmmmmm,buiz wil that stuff work on alunimum,,my m5 has a crack in the oil pan and bmw wants 800.00 for the pan.....

[BUIZILLA]

It probably works better on aluminum, with proper cleaning prep, than it does on cast iron. Take a Dremel and cut a small groove the length of the crack, fill it in with the epoxy, wait 3 hours, and your done.

JH

[pmreed]

I bought some of that aluminum "welding" rod at the Miami Boat Show a couple of years ago. Doggone stuff really works! Prep's all important though. See http://durafix.com/.

Phil

[Donzigo]

Buizilla, would someone have togo to a Catapillar dealer to get the two part stuff? I know about JB Weld, but this sounds interesting.

[BUIZILLA]

CAT dealer will stock it for sure.... I'll post the part number tomorrow when I get to the office... I just got a tub of it last Friday.

I also use some two part epoxy that Stanadyne makes for aluminum bushings and housing inserts... it takes my 5 ton press to get the bushings out after it hardens.

JH