My head gasket blew between cyl 3-4 on my 99 Ford Escort. It was never overheated, the gasket just let go. It was driven about 10 mi after the gasket blew. When cleaning the old gasket material away on the block I noticed a tiny groove in the block in the space where the gasket blew. It is just enough to feel with a fingernail. I thought it was from gasket material but the more I cleaned it I realized it seems to be a groove in the block itself. The block is cast iron and the head is aluminum.
Pictures:
http://s29.postimg.org/6bnyjz8l3/image.jpg
http://s24.postimg.org/5n22i3tud/image.jpg
http://s24.postimg.org/5pqjiomvp/image.jpg
Is this anything to be concerned about? I'm hoping to put a rebuild head and new gasket on. I've thought about putting a tiny bit of JB Weld on it or leaving it as is, but I'm not sure how serious it is. Removing the block is a huge job I'm hoping I can avoid.
Thanks.
Blew head gasket with small groove in block
- Thread starter WA1DH
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[censored] shoot....if thats where the gasket failed it will prob do it again....block needs a clean up mill to make it right.....throw it together and cross ur fingers...or take it apart and do it right kinda thing......daily driver you count on or spare beater?
I dont want to steer you in the wrong direction but something like quick steel by blue magic sounds like it may work. Its a putty epoxy that can withstand 500f. people have used it to repair exhaust manifold cracks. Its works very good as a gasket surface and can be sanded smooth.
Looks to me like it blew between 2 and 3, from the heavy carbon track...not 3 and 4....
You certain of where it blew?
My mistake, I meant cyl 2-3. The gasket there has an actual piece missing (burnt away). You can't really tell by the picture.
Car is a daily driver, 190k miles. The Blue Magic Quick Steel Extreme (rated 2400F) seems like an option I may try. Says it repairs pits in cast iron. I just need a tiny dot in that groove wiped flush with the surface.
Right now would be a good time to clean the tops of those pistons. All you do is soak the tops of the pistons liberally with WD-40 and then take a wire wheel do them. It'll make a black carbon soup on top of your piston. Make sure you get the crimped wire wheel with the soft bristles like I have pictured here:
Cleaning the tops of your pistons is the last of your worries right now. I would not use a wire brush like that anyway. Too much carbon will fall down into the ring lands
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Cleaning the tops of your pistons is the last of your worries right now. I would not use a wire brush like that anyway. Too much carbon will fall down into the ring lands
Good way to create an oil burner
With the # 2 piston down, see if that "groove" extends into the cylinder. It looks like it could be a crack the way it goes right to the edge.
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Cleaning the tops of your pistons is the last of your worries right now. I would not use a wire brush like that anyway. Too much carbon will fall down into the ring lands
With that wire wheel, you will be spraying that stuff all over. Not worth the risk of getting debris down in the piston cylidwr wall. Those pistons look normal for their age, nothing to see here...
My dad used JB weld in the CYLINDER of a 327 to fill a good sized pit. Hand sanded and honed, when doing a redneck tailgate overhaul. It held up to many years of daily driving and then 5 years of drag racing, as fast as 12 second 1/4 miles. The engine finally wore out, but the JB Weld never failed.
A little JB Weld and a flat file, and have the head checked at a machine shop.
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