since last summer i've had an oil leak that i was unable to locate. In the past week or so i stripped the engine down to almost bareblock and removed all the emissions and stuff. I know the leak is from under the oil filter so i figured it might be the sender for my oil pressure gauge or the seal under the pedestal. I am now dealing with the very real oossibility that i have the characteristic crack in the rear iron around the dowel pin. If this turns out to be the case, can i have a few beads welded over the crack or should i pull the engine and replace the iron completely? The engine is fine otherwise, just leaking oil which is not only making a mess, but not allowing me to run any track events this season.

 

Thats rough man. But I dont think that you should weld it up, prolly not the answer you want to hear. But I am no expert.

 

Iron replacement, followed by correct tuning to allevaite the cause of the plate cracking

 

yeah too much timing, or way too lean. bummer

 

What causes the cracks?

 

 

just wondering how its possible to detonate enough to cause this crack and not blow a seal? It was my understanding that you pretty much had to blow a seal to see the kind of pressures necessary to cause this crack. My tuning isn't the best, but i have been running very rich overall and my timing map i got from david lane who has been running it with no problems for about 2 years.

 

I've seen a couple motors that detonated and broke the casting on the front iron where the oil feed line is. I dunno if you could weld it. The heat might warp the housing. Maybe jb weld as a temporary solution?