My "Hero" Blog

Aaaaand the excitement was short lived. The block is cracked along the side of the bolt hole. Probably of my doing. Pretty sure running the tap through the hole is what did it.

So I'm not very happy right now because this messes things up pretty good for me. I move back to the bay in a week and the jeep (obviously) can't come with me. Soooooo it looks like I'll be commuting from the bay to sac to work on this pile on the weekends. Fun.

And because of the way the trans would pull away from the motor with only 3 bolts, I'd be going through bell-housings like nobodies business. 4 bolts is pretty necessary.

Sooooo it looks like I'm on the hunt for a new motor now. Preferably a H.O. With relatively low miles, and no cracks or bolts stuck in the block, but I can't be too picky.
 
Jeep450r said:
Aaaaand the excitement was short lived. The block is cracked along the side of the bolt hole. Probably of my doing. Pretty sure running the tap through the hole is what did it.

So I'm not very happy right now because this messes things up pretty good for me. I move back to the bay in a week and the jeep (obviously) can't come with me. Soooooo it looks like I'll be commuting from the bay to sac to work on this pile on the weekends. Fun.

And because of the way the trans would pull away from the motor with only 3 bolts, I'd be going through bell-housings like nobodies business. 4 bolts is pretty necessary.

Sooooo it looks like I'm on the hunt for a new motor now. Preferably a H.O. With relatively low miles, and no cracks or bolts stuck in the block, but I can't be too picky.
Click to expand...

Why not throw a weld on the crack and run it like that? I think the block is forged and easy to weld to. Turn up the amperage and let it penetrate deep. Much cheaper way of doing it IMO. Then throw on a set of poly motor mounts and have way less movement. It'd probably work just fine.
 
If you're gonna weld it, make sure you warm the block with a rosebud torch so it reduces the heat stress on the block from the welding. That's what we do to every block or head we weld up at the shop.

How big is the crack?
 
Dude weld the crwp out of it . Gusset it plate it. I'm sure it'll get you going
 
The block is cast iron, not forged so it will be a bit harder to weld to. It'll have to be gouged, preheated, and welded with a high nickel stick rod for it to be "properly" done.

I have a few concerns about repairing it... First of all you're supposed to drill out cracks to keep them from continuing on (even when welding over them), right? I'd have to look at it again, but I'm pretty sure the end of the crack is not in a safe place to be drilled out.
Second, the inner diameter of the bolt hole is now larger, because of the gap in between the crack. So I'm concerned that the helicoil will not be able to grab the block properly because it won't fit tight. I could just drill it out yet another size, tap it, and run a larger bolt. But there isn't much meat around the bolt hole in the bellhousing (the block too) and I would be afraid of how little material would actually be left around the hole. And we all know how good I am at keeping my bell housings in one piece lol.
Third, I don't know how the preheat and the heat from welding will effect any of the gaskets in the motor. The place in question is pretty close to the head gasket. I'm have no idea if that should even be something I need to worry about or not though.

I guess I could just run a hot mig bead across it and hope for the best. I'd just hate for it to crack again and then I'd have to pull the motor out again and I'd be back in square one.

Anyways, these are just a few of the concerns I have. Feel free to shoot them down or reinforce them. I'll take a look at it again tomorrow with a clear head and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the help/ideas guys!
 
Time for a stroker? Don't get discouraged, try to put a positive spin on it and upgrade in the process. I know what your going through as we hydro locked and threw to rods in my wife's old 95 zj. At least I was driving like an idiot and caused all the damage.
 
I've wrecked things worse and been OK. I'm not bragging, just trying to reassure.
Clean the area with a wire wheel as best you can. Assess the whole length / depth of the crack.
If at all possible, drill the ends to make stopping places. Even if you cant drill it deep, I'd think just a divot would help.
Pre-heat best you can with a blowtorch, rosebud, whatever. This thing doesn't have to go to the moon and your new job will buy you a stroker someday if you need it.
Add weld. Try to get the best penetration you can.
Bolt it back together and drive that SOB to work.
For what it's worth, my old man has put god-knows how many miles on his cars with the 12 oclock bell housing bolt (GM stuff) missing. His stance : you only need so many bolts to clamp it in place. The dowels keep it aligned, so, screwit. Y'know how many problems he's had? None. He's been hot rodding since the 50s.
So try to learn from it and try to relax :)
 
Sacramento/Pleasanton.

The plan right now is to weld it up and see how it goes. Gonna haul it up the hill to a buddies house, throw some heat at it, and burn 'er in. It's already drilled out and beveled a bit so she's ready to be melted back together.

My biggest concern is that I'll throw it back together and then crack it back open again on the trail and take the bell housing with it. I guess there's only one way to find out though!
 
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Weld the bel housing to the motor
 
Well this weekend I headed up to sac, and went to town. I threw the motor into the back of the s10 and welded the crack up at my buddies house. Preheated the crap out of it and then burned it in.

Threw the motor/trans in on Saturday (thanks again for the help, seal) and was out at the local play area that night. It fired up first try!

The new poly motor mounts are built but I didn't want to deal with putting them in and having them not line up this weekend. So those will be going in this week after work sometime, along with building a new trans mount.

Anyways, I'm stoked and was able to drive the jeep back to Pleasanton with no problems! Now for wheeling prep!

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Dude thats awesome.
 
Cruised up to the cabin this weekend. Took the doors off and went for a cruise up highway 4. It was amazing.

null_zpsbbb547bb.jpg



In the market for an SYE to kill my vibes. I did some research a while back but forgot it all. I'll do some more searching but I'm liking the JB conversions kit.
 
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Can anybody recommend a good vendor for either AA or JB SYE's?
 
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