question MB engine block

[KMF]

Question, if you have a jeep block with frost damage that has a crack down the distributer shaft, what can be done to repair it and how efective is the repair

[kpu121265]

They can be sleeved, i have had three done over the years. Of course, without seeing yours, i can not guarantee that yours can.

Ken

[Willyslancs]

why do you need to know mate ?

[deadline]

Most cast iron cracks can be pinned (they do it to water jackets and around cylinder walls). The pinning actually pulls the metal together (like a screw) and the repair is quite strong.

 

Plus, they can pin without major disassembly of the engine (in your case take out the distributor, pin, reinstall)

 

http://www.locknstitch.com/

 

A sleeve will not repair the crack, and cast iron being so brittle, you stand a chance of the crack growing (even if drilled to relieve stress) due to thermal and mechanical stresses.

[Blackpowder44]

You cannot pin the cast within the dis. tunnel. You have to disassemble the engine and a good engineer will ream out the dis. tunnel and insert a phosper bronze sleeve and pressure fit it with araldite to stop any leaks. My jeep was reconed. this way 20 plus years ago and have travelled all over NW Europe without any problem John.

[deadline]

If the crack is IN the channel proper then it gets a little tougher. But the most common block cracks are from the outside (where the bolt hole that holds the dist clamp in place) down the dist housing taper.

 

A sleeve is not a repair. To repair the crack you would need to drill the ends of the crack (to relieve the stress paths so it does not crack further) and somehow fill the crack.

 

I agree that a sleeve will buy you some time.. maybe even another 60 years... but at some point (tomorrow, next year, etc) that crack is going to grow and cause more problems.

 

I would see if you could actually bore out the entire crack, then insert a cast iron sleeve and ream to original size.