Cylinder heads

[Willy T]

Hey Guys, I'm knew on here, wanted to say Hey and ask a question. I've been reading as many old post as I can, but haven't come across any on welding cylinder heads for cars,bike and tractors. ect. Can anyone give me some information on this or point me to a site where I can find it? Thanks, Willy T

[aametalmaster]

This is the rod i like for stick welding. It doesn't need much pre heat and makes a nice soft weld that can be machined. Its about 25 bucks for a tube of it at my LWS...Bob
Crown 255 Nickel Alloy Electrode for Cast Iron (E NiFe-CI)
http://www.crownalloys.com/page10.pdf

[tnjind]

Cast iron or aluminum?

[Willy T]

Thanks for the info on the rods. I will give them a time. I am looking into doing both cast iron and aluminum. There is a need in the area and no one else is doing this to my knowledge.
Thanks,Willy T

[fun4now]

welcome to the site.
what options do you have to do the repair with ?? TIG/Stick/MIG/OA???? and what skill level are you working at ?? 1/2 year welding experience with MIG only or 20 years in a nuck plant with TIG and every thing else ??

not trying to be a jerk, just looking for a little info to help the guys that do this all the time have a better idea as to what would be the best response for ya. after all there is more than one way to skin a cat if ya have the right tools, some are better than others. the more info you give, the more likely you are to get more responses. good to know your options.

[Willy T]

Well I don't have a tig set up yet. I have stick,mig and oa. I have been welding fulltime for 5+ years and here and there when needed before that. I'm very good at at both stick and mig and good at oa don't get much practice at it.
I have not tried welding heads or blocks before so anything you can send my way would be excellent.

Thanks for the welcome, looks like a great site!

[Aerometalworker]

Well I don't have a tig set up yet. I have stick,mig and oa. I have been welding fulltime for 5+ years and here and there when needed before that. I'm very good at at both stick and mig and good at oa don't get much practice at it.
I have not tried welding heads or blocks before so anything you can send my way would be excellent.

Thanks for the welcome, looks like a great site!

Hey Willy,
Where in Wi are you from?
Ok I weld up quite a few heads, aluminum, cast iron, both air and water cooled. So far a generally reliable means of repairing cast iron heads hase been by the thermal matal spray process. Basicly an OA torch that uses nickel based brazing powders injected into the flame, cronatron makes a nice setup as well as eutectic and even victor. Other options for cast iron include OA fusion welding, this is the oldest and one of the best methods, but time consuming as it requires a good high preheat and slow oven cooling. Personally I would stay away from electric welding, especially on older castings as they dont handle thermal shock well, newer castings seem to approach cast steel more then cast iron.

Now on aluminum, Tig is probably by far the standard now, a 300 amp machine will do you well. Spotless cleaning is essential, inside and out. Try not to soak the parts in solvent as the porus castings absorb it and wreak havok with welding later. Water based cleaners seem to do the best. Watch the filler as well, 4043 on non copper alloyed castings, 4145 on copper alloyed castings. Preheats depend on the material and temper.

-Aaron

[Willy T]

Sorry it took so long to reply, It has been a real busy week! Thanks for all the information, It will be awhile before I get a decent tig set up. I guess I'll just get to reading on this as much as possible.
Aerometalworker, I am in the Neillsville area, where you at?

[Rusty105]

What about using a Tig and Silicon Bronze filler on cast iron heads?

Rusty

[Aerometalworker]

What about using a Tig and Silicon Bronze filler on cast iron heads?

Rusty

If you want to preheat the entire part to over 500 go for it, but you still dont have the advantage of the active flux to clean the base metal. Honestly if you want to braze it, use the torch. Why? the torch heats slowly, and heats a large area, perfect for materials prone to thermal shock issues ( i.e. cast iron ). If the head isnt worth enough to do well, why waste your time working on it? I see so many repairs in iron, done with electric welding, that failed after some running time....it just gets iritating after a while. We have been welding cast iron for 100 years...its nothing new...the process was dang near perfected from an engineering standpoint 90 years ago, everything since has been a shortcut for economic reasons, save maybe the thermal spray process, used since the late 1920's. And we think we are so smart now.

Willy T, Im in Fond du Lac.
-Aaron