Broken Manifold Studs

[BobinSF]

While needle scaling the head, I created/exposed a hole into the water passage (pic). It seems to me that on this flat surface, I can do a durable repair by: making an inside and outside steel cover plate each with a centered small bolt hole, removing the adjacent freeze plug, placing the inside plate and nut, gooping JW Weld in the hole and plate surfaces, placing the outside plate and bolt, and tightening the bolt and nut to form the JW Weld to seal the hole. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Al Schober]

Bobin,
That's an ugly picture. Was the PO of this engine using it for a mooring? I hate to say so, but I suspect you're going to find additional holes when you progress with the needle gun.
I recommend you consider a different head. Our host sells new ones, and used ones are available on eBay now and then. Depends on your budget. I had a couple of spares but got rid of them when I moved two years ago. Perhaps one of the other denizens of this board has a spare head - anyone? I suggest you start directing your efforts toward getting that head off rather than removing the rust from it or repairing it. Scrap value is higher with the rust..

[Boat]

Ditto the above, call the coroner on that one.

[Easy Rider]

My opinion for what it's worth is that head is toast. You might get a few more hours out of it with your repair but the rest of it can't be far behind for failing. My abvise. Save yourself a lot of grief, bite the bullet and buy or find a new head. I played around for awhile with different heads of questionable ingetegrity without much success until I purchased a new one from our host and then relaxed and never looked back.

[ndutton]

There's no reason to expect that was the only thin spot. All the passages are the same age and subjected to the same water.

[joe_db]

Including the block

There's no reason to expect that was the only thin spot. All the passages are the same age and subjected to the same water.

[BobinSF]

Finishing, hopefully, my broken manifold studs adventure, I completed the needle gunning and Dremel rotary brushing of rust down to bare metal without creating/findng any more holes. So I patched the hole in the head as described in my 3-01 post (pic, patch at center). I then primed and painted and reattached the manifold and mixing elbow. The engine now runs fine. As several responders warned, more holes may occur.

[JOHN COOKSON]

As several responders warned, more holes may occur.

I'll send good karma your way and hope you have many happy hours of good motoring.
If karma doesn't work there is always FWC.

TRUE GRIT

[joe_db]

I'll send good karma your way and hope you have many happy hours of good motoring.
If karma doesn't work there is always FWC.

TRUE GRIT

As much of a huge PITA as it was, I love knowing the block now holds glycol, not salt water and random small sea creatures