Greetings and Salutations...

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 13:10:12 -0600, ED
wrote:

On 15 Apr 2006 11:34:18 -0700, "nortonfan" wrote:

Hi group!

I'm restoring a vintage Triumph motorcycle and discovered that the
alloy cylinder block (Wellworthy, I believe) is cracked, near the
exhaust ports, through the sleeve and cylinder block.

Replacement sleevers are no longer available from Wellworthy and I
would like to make new ones to press in after welding the cylinder
block. My question is: where would I find suitable cast iron pipe for
making the sleeves? I have access to a lathe and milling machine, as
well as welding capability.

The intent is to restore this machine but not as a daily rider. That
said, I would rather do the job correctly.

Thanks,
Norman C


Norman.

Clevite among others make "tincan" dry sleeves, most any auto
machine shop would be a source as would a decent supply house.
ie NAPA ect. Welding cracked cast iron engine blocks is somewhat of
a black science to my understanding. But some of the new type
of rods look promising, I have no experience or connection with
http://www.muggyweld.com/index2.html for example


Well, welding cast iron CAN be a problem. I would suggest
that the easiest course of action is to seek out a remanufacturer of
Diesel Engines who has a lot of experience with the process.
"Coincidentally", WE do that sort of thing...and here is a link
to the website http://www/dieseldhp.com/
FOr greatest success, one really has to pre-heat the part to
be welded, and, the cracks have to be ground out to get rid of ALL
surface contamination. Also, while it is possible to stick weld
these things, gas welding is a far better process.
Not only does one need access to welding equipment, but,
of course, the gasket seats and ports will have to be re-milled,
so, access to a good, vertical mill is vital.

years ago in another life I witnessed cracked webs on heavy duty
diesel blocks successfully welded. They always came back without
any warrantee and sometimes were known to crack/leak later.

Yea...that can be a problem, although it has been our
experience that often re-cracking is a problem of technique,
rather than issues with the process. We do have heads come
though the plant that are impossible to weld, as every time
we weld them, they crack some OTHER place, no matter how
carefully we do it. Often, though, these are older heads.
SO far, though, we have a pretty good success rate, upwards
of 99%. Most of the warranty issues we run into seem to
come from incorrect installation, rather than failures of
the welds...but then we do work pretty hard to make sure that
any head that is likely to fail never makes it out of the
shop.
Regards
Dave Mundt