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360 Core Plug?

It all boils down to how long he wants his engine to last. I understand money is a big factor. I'am not one to do band aid repairs. Yes an epoxy fill may work, yes guys still fill there blocks with sealer..... complete 360 that still runs can be had for under 500. A block that needs cleaned up and bored can be had for around 200.....



bear said:
So you don't think about $20 or less in parts and tools and about a half hour of his time is worth it to try and fix this motor ? Even if we call it a temporary fix ? And I only say temporary because some of my temporary fix's people have gotten ten years or more out of . But to me that's what they were supposed to be at the time .
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I do not see where capping and filling the hole with epoxy would be a bandaid fix. The cap would only be there to hold the epoxy in place till cured and once the epoxy hardens it would make the hole fill an intrigal part of the block. Possibly stronger than original with the leak fixed. Would hardly consider it a patch job.
 
So then what's the purpose of the cap, when you would need to let the filler harden before putting the block back into use. Yes jb weld is great. It fixes many things. If it was a 1910 international tractor engine that was hand built by great grandpa I could understand doing the epoxy repair. At the end of the day it's up to the Po to decide what's best. To get another block, or roll the dice in epoxy, and brass plugs.....


7mopar said:
I do not see where capping and filling the hole with epoxy would be a bandaid fix. The cap would only be there to hold the epoxy in place till cured and once the epoxy hardens it would make the hole fill an intrigal part of the block. Possibly stronger than original with the leak fixed. Would hardly consider it a patch job.
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The purpose of the cap is just added security , That's all ! You seem to be forgetting that were the damaged area is serves no real purpose . So sealing it off would not effect anything . So saving "this" motor and all the work he has into it is worth a shot . "Or" he could just go out and find another motor without even trying to fix this one and go threw all this time and expense only to find out that , that motor has something wrong with it that isn't so easily fixed . Either way it would be a roll of the dice as you put it . And I didn't say to use JB weld specifically , I was using that as an example . They make a two part metal epoxy that's more of a liquid before it hardens as well .
 
By the way . In your post you made the comment "At the end of the day it's up to the Po" . I assume you meant "Pro" " If that's the case then how many motors have you built or rebuilt ? Do you do this for a living ?
 
Bear, there was no attack against you or anybody else...... (Po) present owner. Or (Op) original poster. Whichever one works for you.
There's nothing wrong with jb weld. I have used it many times. For many things......not block repair though.... have also owned many small block 318s, and 360s.

bear said:
By the way . In your post you made the comment "At the end of the day it's up to the Po" . I assume you meant "Pro" " If that's the case then how many motors have you built or rebuilt ? Do you do this for a living ?
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There is no structural reason to repair the block at that location. But filling the hole with a two part flowable epoxy will one fill the hole to prevent it from leaking as we know not where in the hole it is leaking and also stabilize the hole by making it solid. The plug is only needed to hold the epoxy from flowing out till it hardens. Assuming the engine is still in the truck and can not be turnt upside down. Also a hole would have to be drilled in the plug just large enough to allow the epoxy to be injected and plugged when full to keep it from running out till hardend.
 
This is also why I pressurize all my engine blocks after cleaning and plugs installed. No since in wasting money on machine work, sonoic testing or magniflux if the block is cracked.
 
Thanks for all the advice on this guys!

Ok Bear, now I get what you were originally saying about the epoxy. I thought you were suggesting I try to find the crack and repair it directly. But filling that cavity, that sounds doable.

I'm not against getting a new motor at some point, but with my budget on this project nearly exhausted, It'll just have to wait. And I REALLY want to get it done this summer so I can drive it :) And yes, the engine is in the truck but I don't have the body on yet (my painter still has it).
 
jumbreit said:
Thanks for all the advice on this guys!

Ok Bear, now I get what you were originally saying about the epoxy. I thought you were suggesting I try to find the crack and repair it directly. But filling that cavity, that sounds doable.

I'm not against getting a new motor at some point, but with my budget on this project nearly exhausted, It'll just have to wait. And I REALLY want to get it done this summer so I can drive it :) And yes, the engine is in the truck but I don't have the body on yet (my painter still has it).
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I knew you'd get it sooner or later , once you thought about it . I figured you were on a budget ( aren't we all ? lol ) and if you could keep this motor running dependably for a while then you could decided later on building or having another motor built for it . Who knows after driving this motor the way it is you might decide to change a couple of things with the next one . Maybe go to the next step so to speak .
 
7mopar said:
Have a 78 block out on the engine stand will get some dimensions.
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If my memory is correct it's an inch deep but I can't remember the exact width . I have a mag motor on the stand but I can't quite get to it right now . Hopefully yours is more accessible "7Mopar" .
 
85Dodge360-4BBL said:
Bear, there was no attack against you or anybody else...... (Po) present owner. Or (Op) original poster. Whichever one works for you.
There's nothing wrong with jb weld. I have used it many times. For many things......not block repair though.... have also owned many small block 318s, and 360s.
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No attack or offence taken . I've been building these motors and cars for 30 plus years and I wouldn't try and repair a "critical" area of a block with epoxy but in the area that we've been talking about it should be fine .
 
This is what I found and was not expecting but it has been awhile since looking at the back side. This is a 78 block, picture is not real good but think you will get a idea of what needs to be done. 360 block 001.jpg

360 block 001.jpg
 
So does this mean there's a top hole for that cavity? If so, then I could plug the bottom one and fill from this one perhaps?
 
Picture is of back side of block looking down. The hole goes clear throw the casting and has no bottom. My guess after looking at my block would be the freeze plug above the hole is leaking and no amount of epoxy put in the hole will repair the leak. If you do not have the body on removing the transmission would be the best way to verify if the freeze plug is indeed leaking.
 
If you look at my photos, the hole I'm getting the coolant leaking out of is at the bottom of the block, drivers side just above the starter.

It looks like you've got the block on a stand, you should be able to spin it around and see the one I'm referring to.
 
The picture posted is of the top side of that same hole location and is just below the freeze plug suspected to be leaking on the back side of the block. On my 78 block the hole is open all the way through the casting.
 
Okay, so it could be a freeze plug is leaking into that top hole, and coming out the bottom one? That's a much more encouraging scenario!
 
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