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Is my block ruined?

Borgli

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Hagerman
I just got in after removing the rear main on my 4.0.
Here's what's stressing me out right now... The part of the seal that sits in the engine block was stuck, and while carefully hitting it with a punch to break it free, a piece of the casting on the outside of the block fell off. It's a little pizza shaped bit of metal the size of my pinky toenail.
How bad is that? Can I still use the block?


I don't know what the last guy used when he put the seal in. When I finally got a piece of it sticking out, I had to grip it with a pair of pliers and put a foot up on the engine to yank it out.

I don't know how to upload pictures here so I can't show a picture of it.
 
If it's small, use JB WIELD. I did this on a saab engine just to fix a chip. Just be sure to use a razor to be sure it doesn't pertrude past the rest of the block making an uneven surface. If you are unsure post a picture

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Your photo is only partially visible, but what I can see doesn't look good!
 
The part of the seal that sits in the engine block was stuck, and while carefully hitting it with a punch to break it free, a piece of the casting on the outside of the block fell off.

If what you say is true! Why is the main bearing cap still on?
 
That's tough. It's where the rear main seal sits. Not sure why you can't install it wet with rtv and make sure it seals up right there. The part of the seal doing the work against the crank will still be fine. And that area isn't structural as far as the main cap support or threads. I think you'd be fine personally, but I could be overlooking something.
 
That's tough. It's where the rear main seal sits. Not sure why you can't install it wet with rtv and make sure it seals up right there. The part of the seal doing the work against the crank will still be fine. And that area isn't structural as far as the main cap support or threads. I think you'd be fine personally, but I could be overlooking something.

Seeing that his block is on a stand............

I'm going to assume that he is doing a rebuild, if he does a proper build he'll have invested about or a little less than $500 in machine work, bore, deck, cam bearings, cleaning, etc.
That's a lot of money to spend if it leaks and it will leak, just a matter of time. Not to mention he'll have just short of $2000 in the over all rebuild and a lot of work and time.

For $150 he can start over, he needs to start over.
 
I would not want to run that, but if I had to I would try to rotate the seal about 15 degrees or so such that the seam between the two halves of the seal was staggered relative to the seam between the block and the cap. I would also try to bend up a piece of sheet metal to follow close to the contour of the block and JB weld the broken piece of the block in place with the sheet metal backing it up.

Brazing would also be worth considering.

But that is a lousy place for a break. Another block should be on the horizon.
 
Seeing that his block is on a stand............

I'm going to assume that he is doing a rebuild, if he does a proper build he'll have invested about or a little less than $500 in machine work, bore, deck, cam bearings, cleaning, etc.
That's a lot of money to spend if it leaks and it will leak, just a matter of time. Not to mention he'll have just short of $2000 in the over all rebuild and a lot of work and time.

For $150 he can start over, he needs to start over.

I'm well aware. I put 6K into a stroker build. I'm all about doing things correctly, but here's a list of possible reasons he can't do it the right way:

-Doesn't care enough, beater vehicle on a ranch
-Lives in a remote area
-Was only doing a basic re-seal and wasn't planning to do machine work
-maybe he can't afford it

There are reasons why some might not be able to do what is considered to be the exact right way and sometimes it's necessary for some people.
 
Thanks for the input. I took it a machinist nearby and he said he wouldn't sweat it. The picture doesn't show it great, but there is still a lip that will support the bearing.
I'm still not too happy about the chip, but the guy has been building race engines since the 70's. Plus I'm not having him work on it, so he's not just saying it to make buck.

I'll probably add some jb weld for good measure.

The_Punisher, your right. I live outside the US, so procuring a new block is almost impossible.

I'll let you know if it blows up at some point in the future....
 
I had a 93 ZJ rear main seal job that a highly rated local mechanic screwed up. One of the rare times I wasn't able to do it myself. It leaked worse when he was done, and I ended up redoing it myself. Near as I can tell, he tried to chisel the upper half out, chipped the block, gave up and shot silicon all over it and put it back together. When I confronted him, he swore the new seal had a brown upper half and black lower half. He also forgot to tighten or even put all the screws back in the oil pan!



Anyway, I had a similar chip and I filled and reshaped it a bit with JB-weld. I put another 60k miles on it before I sold it with no leaks.
 
I would take it to a shop. see if they will tig it. you might need a good shop cos they will need high nickel rods which aint cheap. but its such a small fix...


if you can tho. the best option is to replace. A used block is cheap on ebay/junkyard.
 
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