Truly truly amazing and beautiful work and couldn’t have been done any better. Done exactly right as my father taught me and as his father taught him. As a young mechanic (21 years old) I can really appreciate these “old school” methods back when mechanics were mechanics instead of just parts changers. People don’t realize that there was not always a time where when a component of your vehicle broke that you could just go get a new one at the parts store and swap it out, you actually had to fix the broken component yourself. Seeing people like yourself and my father are what drives my love and passion of being an auto mechanic. Thank you for the awesome video. Great work.
This is a very interesting approach to fixing cracks in cast iron heads. I had a vortec head with a minor crack between a bolt hole and the combustion chamber. I was able to “stitch” this with 4 tapered threaded pins. A pressure check showed it effectively sealed the crack. Very easy process!
It takes very little to help genuine people , however in your case project rescues it's a little impractical due to our location (west Yorkshire England ). The only advice I can give you is to get a scrap block , make yourself a pressure test kit either hydraulic (using water) or air . Purchase a box of set screws (I find brass to be the best due to it having approx same expansion rate as cast iron and that it is easily worked ) and just practice . DON'T rush take your time, at the end of the day it's a technique that's not that hard to learn . IF you scroll the comments I gave a description of a spacing tool to help locate the holes for tapping for the screws. Good luck with your project , if you have any more questions i will answer them to the best of my ability.
brass at 10.4 has nearly double the coefficient of expansion than cast iron at 5.8...a much better materials match is the nearly identical low carbon mild steel at a coefficient of 5.9...using ungraded or grade 2 bolts would yield much less stress on the joint from heat.
But this only helps if the crack is under compression. What if the crack was formed being pulled apart? Would you just also put screws in the other direction?
What would it take to convince you to help me do that to my engine? I got a '36 Ford Flathead V8 I need that done to. Its had old school techniques done to it in its past, and especially with patching a supposed crack, but its started leaking and the epoxy patch thats covering it up has failed, so it needs this done to it. Where are u located, and would u be able to help me do this without dissasembling my engine? It has about 60,000 original miles on it too
Thanks for taking the trouble to make and post a video which shows that there´s no actual absolute need to spend heavily on a proprietary cold metal stitching "system".
I'm not an engineer, but won't the brass expand more than the cast iron, so the fix me more compressed. BUT, could that promote further cracking as the bras expands ?
engineering thank you! Those stitching kits are so much money I'm going to use your method for sure. Would you suggest some sealer or thread lock on them for added sealing? Or maybe a thin layer of solder to the brass?
Depending on what you are sealing , if temp exceeds standard epoxy/studlock then a liquid teflon pipe seal is a good choice . just calculate the correct spacing to create the screw layout depending on what size and thread pitch are being used and thickness of material being sealed. Countersunk type screws can also be used as well , its all about forming a landing for the screws to seal against . Practice using a piece of 1/8 -1/4 strip steel to get the ideal pattern you require.
gsd engineering I'm going to start practicing for sure! I have a 4 inch crack on the side of my engine block under the freeze plugs that I discovered while rebuilding similar to your situation. Funny thing is it never leaked coolant but I want to make sure I address this issue before it can. Thank you again very much for making this video!
Hi , did you ever use jig for your uniform srews spacing ? I am planning to fix my old tractor engine block crack , its horizontal about 8 inch long , any recommendation for size or type srews and sealant .Crack is in coolant water jacket , so no more then 15 psi pressure .
Yes we made a small jig to create a hole pattern ,but not realy required just use calipers and centre punch. Set calipers to 3x tapping size starting from first centre punch mark to skip one hole distance. then drill holes and plug ,then drill inbetween to tie in to form seal . As stated in earlier post epoxy , isocynate thread lock or PTFE liquid type sealant.
Just to clarify the 3x dia of screw ,it is actually works out to be 2x dia due to taking pitch from centre to centre .we used m6x1 therefore centres were 2x5(tapping drill). Three hole spacing required to make a jig hence 3xdrill dia ,first hole locating pin ,skip a dia ,third hole drill guide . Then repeat for second pass in spaces created.
@@gsdengineering Thank you , thats very good info .I will try to find some brass srews , I like the idea of countersink head type , any luck with larger diameter bolts like 10mm ? I have lots of 10mm taps in stock , trying to do it on the budget :-)
@@MikeKrukowski It depends on the thickness of the wall of the casting , fine pitch is better than a too course a thread mixing different diameters is ok, ie 3 small 1larger in a repeating pattern and using metric makes it slightly easer due to pitches available eg 6x1 7x1 8x1 10x1and12x1.
Don't see why not ,just dependent on type of metal being repaired brass is always good with cast iron although many boilers are riveted using copper stays. you just need to take in account expansion rates .
Truly truly amazing and beautiful work and couldn’t have been done any better. Done exactly right as my father taught me and as his father taught him. As a young mechanic (21 years old) I can really appreciate these “old school” methods back when mechanics were mechanics instead of just parts changers. People don’t realize that there was not always a time where when a component of your vehicle broke that you could just go get a new one at the parts store and swap it out, you actually had to fix the broken component yourself. Seeing people like yourself and my father are what drives my love and passion of being an auto mechanic. Thank you for the awesome video. Great work.
This is a very interesting approach to fixing cracks in cast iron heads. I had a vortec head with a minor crack between a bolt hole and the combustion chamber. I was able to “stitch” this with 4 tapered threaded pins. A pressure check showed it effectively sealed the crack. Very easy process!
learnt stitching in my apprentice ship in the sixties.but on cyl heads using tapered steel plugs.
cool dude thank you
It takes very little to help genuine people , however in your case project rescues it's a little impractical due to our location (west Yorkshire England ). The only advice I can give you is to get a scrap block , make yourself a pressure test kit either hydraulic (using water) or air . Purchase a box of set screws (I find brass to be the best due to it having approx same expansion rate as cast iron and that it is easily worked ) and just practice . DON'T rush take your time, at the end of the day it's a technique that's not that hard to learn . IF you scroll the comments I gave a description of a spacing tool to help locate the holes for tapping for the screws. Good luck with your project , if you have any more questions i will answer them to the best of my ability.
brass at 10.4 has nearly double the coefficient of expansion than cast iron at 5.8...a much better materials match is the nearly identical low carbon mild steel at a coefficient of 5.9...using ungraded or grade 2 bolts would yield much less stress on the joint from heat.
But this only helps if the crack is under compression. What if the crack was formed being pulled apart? Would you just also put screws in the other direction?
What would it take to convince you to help me do that to my engine? I got a '36 Ford Flathead V8 I need that done to. Its had old school techniques done to it in its past, and especially with patching a supposed crack, but its started leaking and the epoxy patch thats covering it up has failed, so it needs this done to it. Where are u located, and would u be able to help me do this without dissasembling my engine? It has about 60,000 original miles on it too
I used to do those in a auto machine shop in the late 70's, but we used cast iron tapered plugs with Permatex 2 (I believe) as a sealant.
And I'll bet, they were put away clean, dry, and happy, too.
Thanks for taking the trouble to make and post a video which shows that there´s no actual absolute need to spend heavily on a proprietary cold metal stitching "system".
Yes that great machine classic I learn him skills.
I should have fixed my bench vise this way.
Hi I’m in West Yorkshire but have struggled to find you do you have a link to a website or something where I can contact you ?
email should be listed in about for this channel.
Hi all I can seem to find in the About section is a link to the channel am I doing something wrong ?
@@leomartorana934 under about it says view email adress , just checked it and it's working.
That's chain plugging NOT cross stitching.
Freakin Awesome!
Yes pressure tested the repair cold but what about when the block is at hot operating temp in the vehicle and expansion is happening ?
the colored reads also are tough to read .
I'm not an engineer, but won't the brass expand more than the cast iron, so the fix me more compressed. BUT, could that promote further cracking as the bras expands ?
Wonderful video.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
How did this hold up? Any issues with the fact that they are two different metals and have different expansion rates? What size screws? Thanks
M6x1 brass cheese head screws, NO problems at all reported by customer still driving it daily.
engineering thank you! Those stitching kits are so much money I'm going to use your method for sure. Would you suggest some sealer or thread lock on them for added sealing? Or maybe a thin layer of solder to the brass?
Depending on what you are sealing , if temp exceeds standard epoxy/studlock then a liquid teflon pipe seal is a good choice . just calculate the correct spacing to create the screw layout depending on what size and thread pitch are being used and thickness of material being sealed. Countersunk type screws can also be used as well , its all about forming a landing for the screws to seal against . Practice using a piece of 1/8 -1/4 strip steel to get the ideal pattern you require.
gsd engineering I'm going to start practicing for sure! I have a 4 inch crack on the side of my engine block under the freeze plugs that I discovered while rebuilding similar to your situation. Funny thing is it never leaked coolant but I want to make sure I address this issue before it can. Thank you again very much for making this video!
Hi , did you ever use jig for your uniform srews spacing ? I am planning to fix my old tractor engine block crack , its horizontal about 8 inch long , any recommendation for size or type srews and sealant .Crack is in coolant water jacket , so no more then 15 psi pressure .
Yes we made a small jig to create a hole pattern ,but not realy required just use calipers and centre punch. Set calipers to 3x tapping size starting from first centre punch mark to skip one hole distance. then drill holes and plug ,then drill inbetween to tie in to form seal . As stated in earlier post epoxy , isocynate thread lock or PTFE liquid type sealant.
Just to clarify the 3x dia of screw ,it is actually works out to be 2x dia due to taking pitch from centre to centre .we used m6x1 therefore centres were 2x5(tapping drill). Three hole spacing required to make a jig hence 3xdrill dia ,first hole locating pin ,skip a dia ,third hole drill guide . Then repeat for second pass in spaces created.
@@gsdengineering Thank you , thats very good info .I will try to find some brass srews , I like the idea of countersink head type , any luck with larger diameter bolts like 10mm ? I have lots of 10mm taps in stock , trying to do it on the budget :-)
@@MikeKrukowski It depends on the thickness of the wall of the casting , fine pitch is better than a too course a thread mixing different diameters is ok, ie 3 small 1larger in a repeating pattern and using metric makes it slightly easer due to pitches available eg 6x1 7x1 8x1 10x1and12x1.
@@gsdengineering sounds good , I will gather some selection of bolts , its a side wall of engine block , I hope should be 10-12 mm thick
Will copper screws work?
Don't see why not ,just dependent on type of metal being repaired brass is always good with cast iron although many boilers are riveted using copper stays. you just need to take in account expansion rates .
Thanks for the info. I will definitely be trying this method.
Just as we repair them except we use tapered cast iron screws