Ugh, doing a headgasket on an 86 22r and think I found a crack in my block. A six pack really gives you the eye of the tiger Motor has 253k miles. I'm going to confirm this with more than just my eyes of course. I noticed there's a sort of worn ridge around the circumference of the same cylinder as the crack.........but no other cylinders have this, what gives? I just wanted to get a pic up and get some opinions because I'm fairly new to these motors and have read that they are virtually bulletproof. I may be able to borrow a cheap dye penetrant kit from my buddy to confirm the crack.......if it's cracked is there any way to repair?

 

Looks like a crack to me.
If it's cracked you scrap it and get another block.
Not that expensive.

:wabbit2:

 

Appears to be a crack from the water jacket to the cylinder. Hard to tell but looks to be about a 1/2" deep into the deck. definately check with dye to confirm. If it is a crack then the best option is to get another block.

 

ok thanks. wasn't sure if there was any way to have it welded or something. guess it's time to go craigslist shopping if the dye tells me what my eyes already have!

 

Just a quick update. I've decided to just jb weld it and let her ride! There is no obvious crack on the cylinder wall, just along the coolant passage on top of the block where the gasket seals. I figure I should be able to seal that up and make it match the rest of the block. I mean, this is a second project truck so worse case scenario, my 240,000 mile engine takes a dump while i'm out fishin'. oh noooooooo lol. Best case, it lasts another 100,000...................we'll find out.

 

Yep, looks cracked. Cheapest is finding a used, servicable block at a salvage yard.
You may be able to find a new casting, but no guarantees there, that you'll find one.
You may be able to have the cylinder sleeved, but that's involved and good luck finding a shop to do the work.

 

to be honest i'd rather just get a new block and rebuild, but funds don't permit that right now. it's not my dd so i think it's worth the risk honestly.......i know the block is basically done and everything has high mileage so it's kinda just a truck to use locally.....besides, it a low risk science experiment. i wanna know how long a jb welded block will last hey what's this "sleeve the cylinder" you speak of and does it have decent success rates?

to clarify.......the headgasket is not being done for overheating or transferring coolant/oil.............i went to fix an oil leak where the timing cover meets the head (po did a sloppy timing job) and saw the hg mangled and decided to replace. soooo, it wasn't giving me signs of hg failure before which makes me think i can milk it longer...............