Pin hole water leak through Block

[bkseawolf]

Hello forum,
I have a Palmer P-60 in my 1962 Columbia 29 that has sprung a pin hole size leak through the block, evidently from a water jacket inside the engine.
Is it possible to fix this leak by tapping and filling with a helicoil or threaded plug or bolt, or JB Weld?
I realize this is probably a sign of the engines final days, but I would like to try and fix it until I can set up other options for replacement.
I would appreciate any advise on this. Thanks in advance.
Bob



Bob

[centaursailor]

Could be the first of many if the metal has corroded from the inside, I,d try a silver solder weld as its low heat is not likely to cause further damage.
Drilling and tapping will introduce waste metal into the engine and could make thing a lot worse. Helicoils need a lot of thickness and are really only for repairing stripped threads.
Safe sailing

[scottyt]

the only option in my mind is jb weld. if you try to drill it out, or weld the hole will get a lot bigger, very quickly.

clean the block with brake cleaner, then use jb weld and fiberglass window screen to "patch" over it. the window screen will help more than you think, the jb weld is strong in small sections. it gets brittle when you have a large thin section, the window screen in effect makes it lots of small sections. dont use regular fiberglass cloth, window screen has the larger openings you need.

then start looking for a motor, and i mean before the jb weld cures.

[MARC2012]

Another vote for jb weld.marc

[johnnyandjebus]

bkseawolf

I have a suggestion for you but have only limited experience with it,
loctite green. It is a liquid used to prevent nuts and bolts from separating. In particular it is used on bolts that have already been threaded into place in that it has great penetrating properties.

I have a motorcycle that has a dry sum engine which means it stores the engine oil in the frame. One of the welds in the frame developed a pin hole last year and would weep oil, not a drip just a weep. This winter I planned on having the pin hole welded to seal it. I spoke to my local bike repair shop and they recommended green loctite. Apparently several years ago Kawasaki created an atv engine that had a design flaw, they were prone to developing pin holes in the engine, where exactly I don't know. The fix was to use green loctite.
He recommended trying it first in that using a welder to fix my problem comes with risks, basically try loctite green first then go the route of a welder if needed was his option.

So this winter I disconnected all oil lines from my frame, plugged all oil entry points on the frame, except one. I used an air compressor to inject air into the frame to find the pin hole. I then cleaned up the weld around the pin hole and applied the loctite. A day later I re-pressurized the frame and was unable to get air to come out of the "plugged" pin hole. Time will tell if it will hold. Keep in mind that the oil in the frame is not pressurized you situation may be different.

Sorry for the long winded reply, but I thought it might help to explain my experience. If you google green loctite and cracked welds/ pin hole weld you will find that this technique has been used by others.

John

p.s Another bike shop had a different suggestion, brown flooring adhesive. Apparently it is being used by some bike owners dealing with the same pin hole problem that i have. I can't recommend it but a quick google search will provide plenty of options on the topic.

[CalebD]

JB Weld is rated to withstand high temperatures. Probably the best choice. I wouldn't have thought of using window screening for the cloth but why not?
Plumbers epoxy (PC7 ?) might also work.

[bkseawolf]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
It sounds like JB Weld will be my first choice. As we are talking about high temps.
Question regarding the screen though.
Are you suggesting to lets say cut out a 1 inch square of screen and lay it over the pin hole area and apply the JB Weld over and through the screen at the hole location??
Thanks again
Bob

[sawingknots]

i would just sand/grind around the hole and apply the jb weld however its probablely just a short matter of a time before a hole appears somewhere else,kindof like a gas tank thats rusted out from the inside out

[scottyt]

spread a thin layer of jb weld then put the window screen on it then work another layer of jb weld into the screen and let it all cure. the other thing is jb weld will run and the screen helps hold it in place.

i would also go out an inch in each direction if you can, as the inside probably has more pin holes ready to come out.

[okawbow]

Sometimes the hole is a result of a pit on the inside that may or may not be the only one. They can be the result of a thin spot in the casting, or a void. The motor could last a while, or look like a sprinkler after a while.