Topic: Fixing a cracked block?

[Ghettofab88]

Anyone have a crack in there engine block and actually fix it without replacing the engine?  I've got a small crack on the middle drivers side of my 22RE engine block.  Its been there for 8yrs or so now and as long as I keep some stop leak in the coolant it only ever seeps on occasion.  However I know that over time it can only get worse and in a couple weeks I'm going on a long road trip to colorado and back with the girlfriend.  My worry is that the seep will turn into a drip and then......

I talked with my old boss a long time ago and he suggested I use a technique called "pinning".  You find the ends of the crack, drill a hole, tap it for a pipe thread plug, grind head of plug flush with block and repeat, slowly working your way to the center of the crack.  Seems like it would work and It'd probably only take a few 1/8" pipe plugs to fix my crack.  However, I'm leery of drilling into my engine block and creating more issues right before a big trip.  Anyone ever done this?

Any other ways to fix a crack in an engine block?  I know enough to not even try welding it and no, JB weld doesn't seem to work.

Thanks,
Kevo

[79coyotefrg]

drilling and plugging sounds like a interesting option but i have no experience with that

i have had decent results with JBweld, have you tried it??   the surface must be VERY clean

[Rocksurfer]

Drilling holes at each end would stop it from growing any further, I've never tried that on a block though. It is usually done on sheet metal like body parts that have been flexed out to the point they start to crack. If it hasn't given you much trouble I'd wait till after my trip. JB weld it for now like Glenn said.

[Cheesemaker]

I've read about metal stitching or metal locking.  It's a process of hammering in copper/zinc/? into the cracks to seal the crack, due to the difficulty in welding cast iron.

[drayday55]

i watched my friend a machinest here in san diego do this to a cast iron chevy cylinder head. go to a machine shop
they have specific drill sizes and plugs just like a helicoil. i would do this and then take it to a welder and have em torch (heat) the block and weld it   only way to weld cast iron.