[Sal G]

A mechanic is breaking down my engine (85 140 VRO)for a rebuild. Tnere is 1 small chunk (and several minute fragments) of metal missing on top side of the water jacket facing the cylinder side but not touching the cylinder sleeve.Is this caused by the aluminum becoming porous? Is this one of the reasons why a former mechanic refused to work on a looper- but only a crossflow.(he did mention that these engines had a tendecy for the aluminum to become porous after a period of time) This new mechanic said this may be a problem when they plane the head to make it level. Is it possible to patch the area before the plane it? Needless to say, the mechanic made it clear that the ports must be inspected and x-rayed by the machine shop to see if the engine is salvageable. I'm hoping I made the correct decision to rebuild this engine. Do I need to be so concerned?

[alcan]

Hi SalYes indeed, you should be concerned. I am currently haveing the same type problem with a 1990 40hp evin. the machinest that I've been talking with says he may be able to remove the sleeve and weld up the cracks. Reinstall a sleeve and deck the block. None of this has taken place yet. So we will see. I have run into this problem before, with older engines. I just scraped them for parts, as any machine work of that nature would far excede the value of the unit. If this problem can't be corrected it will only worsen to the point of uselessness.

[Solittle]

Dressing the head should have nothing to do with the water jacket in the block. It would be difficult to comment on what impact the missing chunk could have on the rebuild from here - even with a picture. I would take the block to the machine shop myself and talk to them directly on whether your motor is rebuildable. Do that before you let your mechanic do any work on it. Remember that your mechanic gets paid for what he does even if he is working on a block that can not reasonably be rebuilt.I have a block in my garage the same way.

[Joe Reeves]

Sal..... It's a matter to be concerned about but the problem is easy to cure.I've encountered many blocks that were affected in that manner, usually loopers for some reason. A reliable machine shop that is experienced in Heli Arc work (Aluminum welding) can build up and replace the missing aluminum, then refinish the surface to it's original height (no milling down). The only way to go.I have my machine work performed by Precision Mfg & Sales, located in Clearwater, Florida. I have yet to encounter a problem with their workmanship.