No, I'm not on crack! I'm fixing that derned cracked 11mm block....

[Turbinepowered]

Dude, I'm coming up there and moving in. That is an awesome house, man.

I can pay my own way, I have carpentry and plumbing/electrical skills...

[maxfax]

I have carpentry and plumbing/electrical skills...

You've got 2 up on me..   Unless bending nails and creating leaks count as plumbing and carpentry skills. Luckily between my sister and father they can pick up my slack... I get to clean up, carry stuff, wire it, draw up the building plans, and foot the bill.. I have no reservations about taking an arc welder to my engine block but this project is something TOTALLY out of my realm.. I felt the need for a new challenge a guess.. Now to figure out where to put a bathroom..  Laws prohibit renovating the outhouse for use.. 

[Turbinepowered]

I'm proficient in stick framing and trim; I don't do roofing (though I can).

110 and 220v service is within my skillset, basic wiring, switches, lights... I can do toilets and sinks, hot and cold water systems, but I'm not very good at calculating fall for sewage lines.

I'm looking to add TIG to my range of skills this coming summer.

[maxfax]

I'm lucky in some aspects..   Dad had a new steel roof put on (rafters and all) back in the mid 80's..  THere was a septic system installed at the same time..  All nice and legal too, the regs weren't so strict back then..


TIG as in welding??   THat's something I'd like to work on myself.   I'm finding more and more aluminum things that I need to weld..   THose aluminum rods for the arc welder work, but not real well..  I also need to work on may lave skills..  I've dabbled with it, but never made anything that needed to be real precise..  I need to get dad to guide me a bit on running the thing while I still have that opportunity....

[maxfax]

Well, I guess we can call this the end....   about 12,000 miles it lived..   Though 2 overheats too...  It's back to spewing oil to the coolant just like it was before...  Right on cue too.. I picked up the head for the new engine just a few days ago and it's been riding in the back seat..

My suspicion is that the oil is not going past the gasket, but around the threads on the stud and out the lower half of the crack... From past experience when the gasket has leaked there is alot more oil than I'm getting, and/or it also leaks externally.... No external leaks and probably not more than an ounce or so of oil leaks into the coolant per tank of fuel (or about 460 miles right now).. I'm still actually driving the car, just not my usual hundreds of miles a day... No compression in the coolant, I checked the studs with the torque wrench and nothing has worked loose so it'll still work for what I have planned for it... I'm almost tempted to pull that stud, clean the hole, and put in back in there with some variety of nasty heavy duty thread sealer... Any suggestions??

[arb]

I'm looking to add TIG to my range of skills this coming summer.

Once you do, you'll wonder how anyone could weld with a stick or gas again !! :-) Like the difference between building a house with hand tools 100 years ago and today's power tools. I have seen a master with gas to as good a job as TIG, but he was welding aircraft frames for decades.

[RustyCaddy]

12000 miles with that many problems to start with and in only a couple of months...that is pretty amazing

[theman53]

I sell this to many shops that work with hydraulics, air, and anything with fittings basically. I think it would work. It doesn't harden, but takes unreal abuse. I think if you are dealing with some oil pressure getting around the stud threads this would  cure it if anything would.
Rite-Lok™ Hydraulic/Pneumatic Sealant HP45
Rite-Lok hydraulic and pipe sealants are designed for thread and pipe sealing, replacing traditional PTFE tapes and dopes. Products seal instantly and will not shred, evaporate or shrink. Rite-Lok hydraulic and pipe sealants resist pressure, vibration and temperature cycling as well as hydraulic fluids, oil, fuel and lubricants.

[maxfax]

Since I've been in the habit of responding to old topics lately  , time to dredge this one up again..

Maybe, JUST MAYBE the ole crackomatic isn't quite done yet..  

 I parked this thing back in June when the annual inspection expired..  The tires were bald, the struts, springs, brakes, and rotors were all shot..  It still ran okay other than a little oil getting in the coolant..

 Brake and suspension upgrades are under way, I should have that done this afternoon.. Heck I've had all the parts well over a year now.. As far as the engine? Well, don't have time for that right now..  So upon Lucas's recommendation of the Rite-Lok stuff, I got my mits on some..  Pulled the offending stud, cleaned the hole with carb cleaner, a gun cleaning brush, and compressed air.. Slathered a bunch of the sealer on the stud, and slapped it back together for one last hooraw.. Or will it be the last?    


Okay, truth be told, I'm in a pinch and need an extra car, It'll have to do..  It's got one thing up on the Cutlass, it runs! 

[trav1856]

Bumping for GREAT JUSTICE....(and it's a damn fine story)

[JGWarner]

Holy crap! Your house is straight out of Scooby Doo!



Great story, cool house.