Bob Howard wrote:
>
> Hi Lawrie,
> My note said that "one of the leading shops around here" used the epoxy
> technique. That's not my shop. From what the proprietor said about the
> epoxy popping loose for disassembly, that the bond of epoxy to the iron
> would not seem particularly strong. One would hope that they would remain
> a weak spot if ice were to form in the block.
> Alas, my unheated garage is home for only two MGs, with 50/50 mix of
> fresh antifreeze in their systems, an old Homelite generator and some
> c1960s Ariens lawn machinery. Only the MGs have core plugs in their
> engines, though all of them are keeping the antifreeze inside the engine.
Guys, for what it's worth, I personally wouldn't want to depend on
these plugs giving any protection against a cracked block from ice
formation. I've had blocks crack without any movement of the plugs
at all and once had a Chev 6 bust the whole side out of the block
even though the plugs were out, the rad had been removed from the
car and the only water in the block was what was left after the rad
and freeze plugs had been removed. The bottom hose was still on the
block, pointing upward, so it had not drained fully, The engine
waterways were partially blocked by rust and crud, so the rad and
plugs had been removed to try to flush the junk out of the block.
This resulted in straight water in the waterways and no antifreeze.
One below-zero night left the side of the block on the ground.
(Happened in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, circa 1970). I epoxied the
cast iron side back on the block, being careful to seal the
waterways, once warm weather returned. I used Devcon industrial
black epoxy. That engine did another 10,000 miles before I replaced
it. Had to use some stop-leak a few times.
-Rock http://www.rocky-frisco.com
--
Red Dirt Rangers (Rocky on piano): http://www.reddirtrangers.com
JJ Cale Live (w/Rocky): http://www.rocky-frisco.com/calelive.htm
The Luggage Fan Club: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/luggage-fans
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