engine block water ways

[steve c]

hi, need some help and advise please, ive taken off my head ( never taken one off before) and i think what are the water ways are half blocked, should all eight holes be open as are the corresponding holes in the head, or are some supposed to be blocked off, if they are to be cleaned out, does any one have any advise on how to go about it, i was going to remove the water pump, carefully drill out the corrosion/crud, then a good flush out, ive uploaded a picture of the block.

many thanks regards steve[frame][/frame]

[MarkyB]

They look fine, much better than average.
The engine has always had antifreeze in it which has an anti corrosion element in by the look of your picture.

[bmcecosse]

It's fine - why did you take 'your' head off.......?

[steve c]

hi took the head off to check the head gasket, as part of a semi rebuild of the whole car, i had very little history with it when i brought it so realy am trying to get as many things checked out before puting it all together again, the sump gasket is leaking, timing cover gasket is very suspect, and it was running with out a thermostat, when i saw the block i must admit i thought i was looking at a right mess, but i will bow to someone a lot more experienced than me, if you say it looks ok, then i will leave well alone, and re build it. many thanks steve

[chrisryder]

i think what you're looking at is the difference between holes that are in the head, but not in the block. also, holes that are bigger in the head than they are in the block.

where there are holes in the head and not the block (on the left hand of the block) marking of the block occurs where the water in the head corrodes the block face. the extra holes in the head are probably only for production purposes, to facilitate core removal. this often looks like there are meant to have been holes in the block which have become blocked up. they haven't.

where there are bigger holes in the head than the block, the water corrodes the top of the block leaving a witness around the hole. this often looks like the holes in the block used to be huge but have closed up with corrosion. they haven't.

as bmcecosse says, it's fine, ignore it! hopefully you'll decoke the head and regrind the valves while you're in there?

[steve c]

Chris thanks for that, it is now very clear, you have put my mine at rest, yes as the head was off ive had all valves out , re grind and good clean up all round, regards steve

[bmcecosse]

If you are going this far - treat it to new valve guides and the new top-hat oil seals on the inlet guides - but nothing on the exhausts.......

[steve c]

Hi why nothing on the exhausts ??

[bmcecosse]

Because - there is +ve pressure in the exhaust ports - so oil is much less likely to run down them, AND - it's a good idea to let a little oil get on the exhaust stems anyway!

[David W.]

I have a 948 engine with curious water ways.
The coolant drain (left side, rear of engine) is blocked. I cleaned out some old sludge, but I'm up against a solid wall about 1/2 inch in. I've tapped it with a small punch and hammer, but am afraid to give it a decisive blow. I bought the car about a year ago, and it came with a valve in the port.
Any suggestions?
David

[MarkyB]

Any suggestions?"

Yes, don't tap it with a hammer and punch!
See if you can get some guitar string/piano wire and twizzle that about in the hole.

[bmcecosse]

It's not a seriously worrying thing - certainly NO punches etc! As above - do your best to clear it away without doing any damage using wires/scrapers etc. But if it won't clear - just plug it again. One SURE way to clear it is to forget to fit the plug, and then take the car for a run. It will definitely clear then and dump all your water on the road...........

[David W.]

I've tried going after it with a dental pic, and I've run a length of old speedometer cable with a drill when I had the head off.
I'm not going to worry any more.
David

[bmcecosse]

Good plan!

[beno9962]

I found the best way to clear the waterways is with a steam cleaner. I had the same problem, but it seemed to loosen the sludge. I used a screwdriver to try and break through the drain hole whilst blasting steam in the other end, after a couple of minutes, steam was blasting out all over. Result!

Next I put the plug back in and blocked off all the water holes. Then I filled it up with water containing a rust removing solution and left it over night.

Finally I opened the drain, and rusty water washed right through. Finally I pulled the filler out the holes and I had a fully cleaned water system.