Need Some Head Repair Advice

ARbowhunter7

ARbowhunter7

Opulence...I Has It.
I recently got my truck back from the shop with a mint, fresh head installed. Everything looked fine, but it kept leaking coolant from the heater core outlet at the front of the head. Through all the efforts at tightening/sealing it there's now a hairline crack at the outlet that extends about 1/2" down the front of the head. Not bad, but enough to spray a little coolant.
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I need to fix it, but I'm a newb when it comes to Devcon repair. Which Devcon would work best here and what's the method of application in a crack that small? How would you prep the surface inside that little crack? And should I remove the fitting before repairing?

Thanks in advance.
 
teddybear said:
I would talk to the shop that installed the head. Sounds like it was cracked to begin with
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It was double checked for cracks by a good machine shop before it went on. It definitely wasn't cracked before, as I inspected it thoroughly when resealing the outlet.
 
wideopen said:
JB Weld FTW!
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I'm Alabama born, Georgia raised...don't think that hadn't crossed my mind. Haha.

Seriously, though, I would think a crack that small in a non-crucial location like that wouldn't need to be welded?
 
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I'd install a pipe bushing dry and tig the bushing and crack. Then I'd quit over tightening them.....lol.
 
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WUnderwood said:
I would drill a small hole at the end of the crack so it would stop spreading
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Good call on the drill stop. I remember doing that on a transfer case. I have heard you can't braze a head without removing it, but I'm assuming you can TIG it with it in place?

I read somewhere about a guy doing a small crack repair by drilling out the end of the crack, getting epoxy down in the crack and then peening the crack shut with a small punch. Any thoughts on this?
 
Devcon metal welder by 3m the one epoxy i have used without any prep and it hasn't failed On plastic or metal... Aluminum and steel.. With prep it had to be awesome!
 
epoxy will work fine. or jb weld will also. have done both on my own stuff and never leaked again. epoxy holds up to just about anything. heat/movement/ shifting ect with no issues. we use it on alcohol aluminum heads and diesel intake ports when you cut into water jackets.....
 
Thread tape+thin spot of cast iron, aluminum, ect = use great caution when tightening.

I've used JB in that sort of application and have it give up when 200* or so is reached.

I'd probably epoxy (not sure what, but something dang good) the chit out of it and then thread it in finger tight, maybe lightly snug it with a wrench. Too much tension on tapered threads and it's gonna get worse even if you drill a hole at the end.

If it was a customers, I'd quit wasting my time trying to fix it and put a different head on it.
 
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