Aluminum Head and Block Repair

February 02, 2023, 11:37 AM

David Covey

quote:
Originally posted by Al Alguire:
We have had numerous damaged heads for folks repaired by Slawko. Even ones previously fixed by someone else. If the person doing the repairs is competent there is ZERO reason it cannot be done successfully. The only real question is will you feel comfortable with the repaired piece when done.

Its fusing metal, if you understand the welding process and are competent in performing it. Know the base materials and what fillers work best with those no reason for it to be anymore difficult than welding a bracket on a table really.

Best of luck. Assume its an Indy block and to me the older blocks can be a crap shoot, especially if you get into the materials between the liners. They are really thin there and repair success is mixed at best from what I have seen. We have done a couple one ended up with a tall fill as it would just never seal. Quality of the castings, especially older ones and the areaa between the sleeves are the biggest issues.

Al, Thanks. An opinion I trust.
My block is a 2013 for what it's worth.
I hadn't thought to fill the block. But now at least it's in my head. This one seems to be close to 3/16 wall between the cylinders, I have not measured it.

Dave

February 02, 2023, 11:44 AM

Al Alguire

quote:
Originally posted by 1320racer:
Al, by your statement Brodix isn’t competent.

Well since Brodix does not do their own repairs...FWIW we would never send anything back to them. If it's a cylinder head it goes to Slawko, if it's a block we have had them done locally, IF they are worth doing. Not every block can or should be fixed..

February 02, 2023, 11:46 AM

Al Alguire

Dave those are far better than the really old stuff, early 2000's. The new stuff is WAY better. We have done two engines with the new castings and they are much nicer. Have not had my hands on an X block yet but they look nice. We have seen some older ones that are not much thicker than tin foil between the cylinders. Makes doing repairs impractical if not almost impossible.

February 02, 2023, 01:03 PM

1320racer

Ok so you’ve confirmed, you are of the opinion that Brodix is not competent to fix their own heads and blocks.

February 02, 2023, 02:47 PM

TOP38

quote:
Originally posted by Al Alguire:
We have had numerous damaged heads for folks repaired by Slawko. Even ones previously fixed by someone else. If the person doing the repairs is competent there is ZERO reason it cannot be done successfully. The only real question is will you feel comfortable with the repaired piece when done.

Its fusing metal, if you understand the welding process and are competent in performing it. Know the base materials and what fillers work best with those no reason for it to be anymore difficult than welding a bracket on a table really.

Best of luck. Assume its an Indy block and to me the older blocks can be a crap shoot, especially if you get into the materials between the liners. They are really thin there and repair success is mixed at best from what I have seen. We have done a couple one ended up with a tall fill as it would just never seal. Quality of the castings, especially older ones and the areaa between the sleeves are the biggest issues.

Al

Fixing a crack in a water on a head or block is not as simple as welding a bracket on a table! You can't clean and prep the inside of the water jacket which causing porous welds when the welding melts into this dirty area. So it's a weld, pressure check, regrind and reweld process and that's after you discover the entire length of the crack. Can it be done successfully, yes. Money fixes a lot of issues, but not all!

February 02, 2023, 05:15 PM

smokinjeff

Dave. I had John Ferry in Mesquite repair my aluminum heads. They look good but havnt ran them yet. He's a good guy and him and his brother run the TDRA series I believe. Hope all is well my 2nd best friend !!!

February 03, 2023, 11:38 AM

David Covey

quote:
Originally posted by smokinjeff:
Dave. I had John Ferry in Mesquite repair my aluminum heads. They look good but havnt ran them yet. He's a good guy and him and his brother run the TDRA series I believe. Hope all is well my 2nd best friend !!!

Second best? I'll accept that..lol

Ferry had my stuff since last August. When I dropped it off he said he would have it in a month, but then he kept giving me "next week" I finally got tired of it. The only thing he did was start prepping to weld and that was at least a month ago.
Glad he worked out for you.

Dave

February 03, 2023, 12:12 PM

Al Alguire

Top38 fwiw I understand the process. You take what I said literally. I stated if you understand the process, that process will change for any welding anyone does. Be it welding up a block, a head, a bracket ona bench, a titanium vessel, aluminum, steel, dissimilar metals or a piece of tubing in a cage. All use a different process but if you know and understand that process no reason it cannot be done

February 03, 2023, 08:10 PM

smokinjeff

Dave. I may have got the new customer deal ???

Yes your my 2nd Best Friend - I'm leaving you room for improvement !!!

February 04, 2023, 11:32 AM

David Covey

quote:
Originally posted by smokinjeff:
Dave. I may have got the new customer deal ???

Yes your my 2nd Best Friend - I'm leaving you room for improvement !!!

Jeff, I was a new customer too..

I Have always had room for improvement..lol

Dave

February 04, 2023, 03:51 PM

Footloose

Dave I think that this type of repairs are done often at Ohio Crankshaft. Might check them out. Good luck-you will get it fixed.

February 04, 2023, 07:03 PM

David Covey

quote:
Originally posted by Footloose:
Dave I think that this type of repairs are done often at Ohio Crankshaft. Might check them out. Good luck-you will get it fixed.

Thanks. Decided to do the welding myself. Couldn't find anyone local that was dependable.

Dave

February 04, 2023, 08:37 PM

Dave Koehler

quote:
Originally posted by David Covey:
quote:
Originally posted by Footloose:
Dave I think that this type of repairs are done often at Ohio Crankshaft. Might check them out. Good luck-you will get it fixed.

Thanks. Decided to do the welding myself. Couldn't find anyone local that was dependable.

Dave

There ya go. You will learn much. Mostly what not to do. The next one will be easier.

February 05, 2023, 09:15 AM

jenavet

I feel the pain of this thread!! Most of these shops make promises that they cant keep.
I had 3 fairly positive experiences this year.
The first one was when i cracked my brodix headhunter 383mc at gainsville.That crack was straight nasty!! I tried to get it fixed in florida and everyone said no way.Dane ward lives near brodix so he dropped it off for me and brodix repaired it for in house.I have no idea why people are saying they dont do in house repairs.They had it done in several weeks and i talked to the tech at brodix who repaired it!!

Next i broke a rod in my LS motor and the piston hit my mast black label head pretty badly.Mast is in texas and they had it repaired in about 3 weeks.

Finally i sent my dart LS block to ohio crankshaft that was badly damaged by the broken rod.They told me a few weeks but in reality it took about 3 months.They did a great job at a reasonable price.

February 05, 2023, 11:45 AM

David Covey

quote:
Originally posted by Dave Koehler:

There ya go. You will learn much. Mostly what not to do. The next one will be easier.

I already learned I had to buy additional equipment..

I didn't have a water cooler on my Tig since I didn't do that much intensive welding that air cooled was an issue. I learned quick that welding aluminum for any significant amount of time was going to require cooling..lol

Hopefully there wont be a next time or at least not before I quit.

Dave

February 05, 2023, 11:50 AM

David Covey

Jenevet.. Amazing isn't it. I'm thinking everyone has made all the money they require and just don't care anymore.
But then you run across a business that cares and that kind of restores your faith.. lol

I really think the automotive field and mainly hi performance areas have lost so many people that what is left are flat out overwhelmed.

Dave

Dave

February 05, 2023, 06:39 PM

Dave Koehler

quote:
Originally posted by David Covey:
quote:
Originally posted by Dave Koehler:

There ya go. You will learn much. Mostly what not to do. The next one will be easier.

I already learned I had to buy additional equipment..

I didn't have a water cooler on my Tig since I didn't do that much intensive welding that air cooled was an issue. I learned quick that welding aluminum for any significant amount of time was going to require cooling..lol

Hopefully there wont be a next time or at least not before I quit.

Dave

Paraphrasing Big Daddy here.
When asked about the secret to his success he said We do as much as possible in house to control our own destiny.

February 06, 2023, 12:23 PM

Goob

quote:
Originally posted by jenavet:
I feel the pain of this thread!! Most of these shops make promises that they cant keep.
I had 3 fairly positive experiences this year.
The first one was when i cracked my brodix headhunter 383mc at gainsville.That crack was straight nasty!! I tried to get it fixed in florida and everyone said no way.Dane ward lives near brodix so he dropped it off for me and brodix repaired it for in house. I have no idea why people are saying they dont do in house repairs .They had it done in several weeks and i talked to the tech at brodix who repaired it!!

Next i broke a rod in my LS motor and the piston hit my mast black label head pretty badly.Mast is in texas and they had it repaired in about 3 weeks.

Finally i sent my dart LS block to ohio crankshaft that was badly damaged by the broken rod.They told me a few weeks but in reality it took about 3 months.They did a great job at a reasonable price.

People say they don't do the repairs in house, because..... THAT'S WHAT THE GUY ON THE PHONE SAID TO ME.
"Our repairs are done at an outside shop",
mid- 2022
Maybe he was only talking about Aluminum head repairs????

February 06, 2023, 04:37 PM

1320racer

Jeff Brothernton told me they do repairs in house before I sent my 383 Headhunters to him on 9/18/19 right after we won the National event at Maple Grove. I paid $1800 in overnight shipping to and from so I’d have the heads for our next event as we were in contention for the world championship. The repair was undetectable and we finished the season without issue.

Had the engine freshen for the 2020 season and the repaired head (crack in the water jacket) failed on the dyno. Sold the pair and bought brand new heads.

February 06, 2023, 09:11 PM

Curly1

quote:
Originally posted by David Covey:

I really think the automotive field and mainly hi performance areas have lost so many people that what is left are flat out overwhelmed.

Dave

Dave

Actually almost every industry has lost most of the technology and talent to build what we could just 10 years ago. And it is getting worse.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/np3zpruo/
"Dunning-Kruger Effect"
-a type of Cognitive bias where people with little expertise or ability assume they have superior expertise or ability. This overestimation occurs as a result of the fact that they do not have enough knowledge to know they don't have enough knowledge.

Before you argue with someone ask yourself, "Is this person mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective?" If not there is no point to argue.

4X NE2 CHAMPION. 2020 TDRA NE2 Champion