Cracked engine block

[RustyMC]

My dad sold boats out of Knoxville for many years and you would be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) at the number of people coming in to trade their 'well running' boats with JB holding together the block. People give dealers a bad rap but don't underestimate the crooked nature of John Q. Public

[Stx221]

I have used JB Weld on a friends oil pan that had about a 2" crack or so in a car before. It held up for 2 years and about 20k miles with no issues. That was cheap cast aluminum and it held up very well, never leaked.

However, I wouldn't have done that to an engine block. I would pull the motor and either have it professionally welded and then pressure tested/rebuilt, or find a "junkyard" motor to put in its place.

[Prostarski190]

I'm so thankful for all the replies and great advice please keep it coming. This is a new purchase and just discovered the engine crack. It appears the previous owner has attempted some type of patch. I have no idea what the material is but I began scraping it off with flat head screwdriver and it flakes like gasket type material. I've posted some photos at

mailto:[email protected]

I still haven't figured out how to post them here as all of my posting is done from my iPhone. The boat is 96 Prostar 190 with LT1 and powerslot trans. I'm thinking about peeling off all the attempted patchwork and see what's under there. Then possibly patching with JB Weld and get it out on the water to see if the transmission is in good shape. The engine runs now and as far as I can tell there's no water in the oil. My major concern is if I do continue to run this engine I may do more damage to other parts of the engine. Should I just go find an engine block and build it with the parts of my current engine and not run it at all? What block will work in place of chevy 350 LT1? Please advise. Thanks

[Prostarski190]

Sorry, this is the address of posted photos.

http://m1257.photobucket.com/albumvi...6.jpg.html?o=0

[FrankSchwab]

It's May, it's time to be skiing not wrenching. I'd say give the JB a shot and hit the water. Watch the engine, keep an eye on the repair, and plan on fixing it correctly come October. Of course, if it's holding fine and there aren't any issues, push it back to the next October...

If you've got an external crack in the block, you may have internal ones also. Keep an eye on the oil condition - if it starts getting milky, you've got a choice to make. You can continue to run it, changing oil when you see a need, and plan on replacing the engine this winter, or you can stop, tear it down, and have a chance of saving what you have. If you've got multiple cracks, you may not end up having much choice anyway.

I had a friend who fixed a hole in the crankcase of his motorcycle with some silicone rubber, I wouldn't have imagined that it would hold up long-term to the hot oil circulating over it, but 5 years later it was still holding strong.

Good luck, and good skiing.

/frank

[thatsmrmastercraft]

If there is any water getting into the oil, you will know right away as it gets very milky.

[Granite_33]

Originally Posted by RustyMC

My dad sold boats out of Knoxville for many years and you would be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) at the number of people coming in to trade their 'well running' boats with JB holding together the block. People give dealers a bad rap but don't underestimate the crooked nature of John Q. Public

Those who deal with the public know no bounds of the dishonesty that takes place.......

[waterlogged882]

..........

[Lumbergh]

@cloaked:

Don't sugar coat it, tell us how you really feel.

Feel sick for the OP, that just looks like a money pit.

[RustyMC]

@cloaked:

I guess we all know how you would respond when someone asks if "does this make my a$$ big?"