Welding Cylinder Head

OK so I have tewnty thoughts going through my head. I am trying to make a decison on arc welding a large head up or brazing. Here are options Nickel rod, (welco99-t) Maga 770, silver brazing.

Have you ever welded one of these things up?

What would you suggest???

Thanks for any help!!!

I was shot down for saying this once before but he goes again. Go find the cast iron specialty rods like Palco 827 (614-886-8800). They have tremendous elasticity and don't crack when cooling down .If you're a purist and don't paint it will blend into the rest of the engine but ni-rod will stare at you forever. The new technology rods also machine like cast iron. Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving . Brian

MOLD WELD 704 is another good choice for cast iron.

Hi, Pre heat the head the gas weld or tig weld with that real cast iron rod.The stuff flows nice and is hard to tell where the repair is.Nickle rod is fast but I always seem to get cracks when it's done so I use the cast rod or braze Rob

I don't like arc welding too much for C. I. but regardless of how you do it the key is PREHEAT PREHEAT PREHEAT. If you possibly can use an oven with a minimum temp of 900 deg. F. Keep the casting covered during and after welding and cool it down as slowly as possible. Here's a tip. Use kitty litter to cover the casting. its dry and retains the heat very well. If you have a cat in your shop keep the litter covered when not in use.

DAN

Dans method works very well!!! PREHEAT. weld, even with regular mild steel rod ,,then cover and cool,SLOWLY,

I've welded a lot of differnt kinds of cast parts 1/8" thick on up. Tried tig with cast rod tig with nickel rod and so on, brazing works on some things but not every thing. I've preheated by the book and expermented with preheating. there is no fool proof way because all cast iron is not the same. What I have had the best results with is a cast welding rod with no nickel chromotron 235 and no preheat welding about 1/2" at a time and let it cool down to warm. When it's done it looks just like your cast. Chromotron is the parent company of Certanium rod Co.

What type of welding process is used with this rod?

A little more on welding C. I. I have been welding for close to 50 yrs. now and i still havent found any arc weld process that i am happy with. I have a whole cabinet full of rods for C. I. ,some i payed as much as $80.00 lb. for and still havent found one that works without preheating,so as long as i still have to preheat i'll get out the old gas wrench and the plain C. I. filler rod and using a good grade of C. I. flux , preheat the part and wind up with a good looking, machinable, almost invisable weld that i know will hold forever (almost).One hint. Avoid painting a new gas weld for as long as you can. Small gas pockets form in C. I. weld and will blister paint for up to 6 months.

DAN

Slow down.... Weld an inch and come back later... Speed on cast is a no no ... The hotter it gets the more it spreads... Don't give the chance to get hot... Sometimes it takes me all day to weld a 4 inch crack.... Just put a dab of weld and go do something else...

In a repair shop you don't always have all day to do a job, but thats good advise for any C. I. welding job. I usually run a half inch bead in a couple of spots and then put the part back in the oven for an hour or so. on one old car cyl. block i took almost two weeks of continuous heat and weld to do about thirty-seven inches of weld and another four days to cool it down. Once the welds were dressed down you couldn't see where the welds were and there were no leaks or cracks. Try that with your arc welder.

DAN

Hi Dan, Do you use flux on the cast iron rod when you tig weld?I have found that the gas is enough.37" of crack?That musta been a real rare engine block.Rob

I usually use an acetylene torch to weld C. I. and i have to use flux with this. With a tig welder you dont need flux on the filler rod but if you preheat the part in a furnace the weld area should be fluxed to prevent oxidation. P. S. the engine is a 1920 nash truck. I looked for another for two years before i welded this one.

DAN