Another Q about Cylinder head repair

[WelderBoy]

I want to start off that I don't have a cylinder head that needs repair, but at one point I had an aluminum head that had a crack and didn't have the $$ to repair and wasn't a welder at the time. I was wondering what the standard practice is to repair a crack in a cylinder head.

If I were to approach it with the knowledge I have about metal repair in general, I would grab a die grinder, drill or whatever it took to get into the tight spot and cut/drill the crack out as deep as I could follow it, grab my tig torch and build up with appropriate filler material and machine down.

Is that about it? Is there more to it? I was wondering because of another thread mentioning cylinder head repair.

[zapster]

Its not a cylinder head but the same principal applies..

http://www.weldingweb.com/showthread...ighlight=honda


...zap!

[WelderBoy]

Cool. About what I was thinking. Thanks zap

[tresi]

Often they warp so much that you have to straighten them before shaving the deck. Sometimes it's the welding that warps them and sometimes they come off the engine warped before you touch them.

[FordBuilderFL]

Ever try the single-cut carbide burrs? I use them on aluminum mostly... They just have a different feel to them, a little harder to control and cut much faster... But for porting a manifold that has a pile of extra AL in the runners they save lots of time!

[WelderBoy]

Originally Posted by FordBuilderFL

Ever try the single-cut carbide burrs?

If they are the ones I am thinking about, then yes. Cone shaped. Sorta small. Have criss/cross pattern on them. Silver colored.

[FordBuilderFL]

criss-cross are double cut, single cut only have lines in one direction... Here is a picture of one like the ones I use on AL

[Supe]

Originally Posted by FordBuilderFL

criss-cross are double cut, single cut only have lines in one direction... Here is a picture of one like the ones I use on AL

My favorite about the single cuts is that they don't cake up nearly as quickly as the double cuts do.

[FordBuilderFL]

Yepper! But i found on iron heads, that the double cut are a lot better... faster and smoother control...

[zapster]

Wax Wax Wax Wax Wax....

Wax on

Wax off..

...zap!

[FordBuilderFL]

Im new to the wax trick, gonna try it this coming week, got a cobra lower I need to open up a bit

[Rick Moran]

Rather than rewrite the whole thing again, here is an extensive post I submitted some time ago on aluminum cylinder head repairs I used to do in the mid 80's. The most important thing is to manage the heat to avoid losing the treat treating of the head. I've seen these turn to playdough before and had to send them out for re-heat treating. If they lose the hardness and they have to be re-heat treated, you have to re-machine all of the valve guide and seat pockets as well as re-surface the head.

Advice on burrs is correct. AL use wax and single cut, steel and cast iron use double cut.


http://www.weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=8676

[FordBuilderFL]

Rick thanks! Awesome info there

[zapster]

Originally Posted by Rick Moran

Rather than rewrite the whole thing again, here is an extensive post I submitted some time ago on aluminum cylinder head repairs I used to do in the mid 80's. The most important thing is to manage the heat to avoid losing the treat treating of the head. I've seen these turn to playdough before and had to send them out for re-heat treating. If they lose the hardness and they have to be re-heat treated, you have to re-machine all of the valve guide and seat pockets as well as re-surface the head.

Advice on burrs is correct. AL use wax and single cut, steel and cast iron use double cut.


http://www.weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=8676

You da man!

...zap!