[alfa] Alfa engine block corrosion

[Jon Pike <jhpike@xxxxxxx>]

> A question regarding liner/cylinder block corrosion. I have my 1750 
> motor stripped down. The liners are out and the block has been cleaned 
> in a tank. New liners will be going in. There is visible although minor 
> pitting around the O ring seal area of the block although the engine 
> has never leaked water in the past. How much corrosion is too much? Is 
> it advisable to use a sealer around the base of the liner? If so, what? 
> Is it possible to use an epoxy aluminium filler to fill minor defects?
>
> Michael Findlay
> 1971 1750 GTV
Hi Michael..

I had a bit of this in the engine I just rebuilt..  After worrying and 
asking around.. I just did a slight smoothing with some fine sandpaper 
and let it go.  The guy who did some machine work for me said it wasn't 
a major deal..  Of course, every situation is different..  I only have 
600+ mi on the engine, so that dosen't tell us much. (knock Alfa 
steering wheel)

If the old O ring on that cylinder is intact, you could look at it and 
try to judge how well a new one could seal over that particular 
surface.  Looking at them all would give you an idea just how much 
"squish area" the O rings will occupy.. and how much roughness they 
might accomodate.

I've heard of people putting just a smear of RTV silicone on the ring 
for extra security,  but make sure you don't have it ending up in loose 
bits in your oil system!!

The late, great Fred answered me on this issue,  saying if need be one 
could try filling with some appropriate materiel like JB weld or such, 
with a well greased and wax paper gasketed old liner pressing things 
into place with the head, to form up the shape (with no O ring).  This 
you could do if it's a drastic case..  I'd think that with using a 
filler, there would always be the danger that if you didn't have it 
seated perfectly, you could end up with a more uneven and likely to leak 
surface than before.  So do this only if you really need it, and put in 
the liners and torque down the head, or at least that one liner, with 
something to make sure it's tight and square..  and make sure the epoxy 
isn't going to stick.

Good Luck..

Jon
77 Spider
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