Carter,
The crack can be anywhere in the surface of the combustion chamber. Once
the water is heated up and you shut off the car, the heat-soak will keep up
pressure on the cooling water and push it into the bore of the affected
cylinder. When you start up, white smoke. A good shop can weld many of
the common cracks. Sometimes the crack cannot be welded.... replace the
head. Make sure your shop of choice knows how to properly weld cast iron.
It cannot be welded without heating the entire head up to at least 900deg.
Simply MIG welding the crack and grinding it back to shape is a recipe for
another rather immediate failure. I just finished a head job on my Austin
A35 and the machine shop guy gave me a primer on proper head welding, and
why he no longer offers the service and instead refers all cast iron heads
to a shop that knows how to do it right. He found that the time and energy
required to heat up a head to the right temperature made the cost too high
for him. Shops set up to do it right have a furnace or oven for the
purpose.
Glen Byrns
> Short history: I have a 79 Midget. I blew a rod last year, so I had to
fix
> that. While the engine was out, the cylinders were bored and new pistons
were
> put in. Got car back from the shop and have been putting about 200 miles
a
> month on it, except during the winter. In March, I noticed a little white
> smoke. Since it stays parked most of the time I thought it was
condensation.
> It has progressively gotten worse. So I thought I have a blown head
Gasket.
> Well now It is Bad. I drove it 12 blocks, & the temp gauge was just about
> right. Shut it off, talked to a friend for a few mins. and then got back
in
> it and a huge blast of white smoke out the back, two blocks down the road
my
> temp gauge is rising faster than I care to ever see again. I pull over
let it
> cool down and added 1/2 a gallon of water. This is what I think is wrong.
I
> think the exhaust port in the head is cracked. When I shut the car off,
the
> crack expanded and the water ran through it. Then I restarted it and the
huge
> cloud of smoke was the result of the crack in the head. What do you
think.
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