Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications 3.0L Duratec damaged 3L shortblock

Just recieved my second hand shortblock from a follow CEGGER (great guy to deal with!) and it looks a bit damaged. It was delivered by UPS, and there is an indentation on the outer edge of one side of the V where it looks like it was dropped on its corner. There is no crack, but the leading edge is pushed in about 2/3mm, and the top surface is no longer totally flat.

Also there are one or two pipes which stick out of the top of the block and they are damaged, as though something heavy was sitting on top of the engine (or the engine was sitting upside down on itself.

I will post some pics asap, but does anyone have any experience with small damage on 3L shortblocks i.e. useability?

Tough to say without pics. I would think, that if there was no damage to the block to head surface, block to oil pan surface, or anywhere that there would be a sensor or pulley, you should be okay, as long as there isn't a crack in the block. In some cases, cracks in blocks aren't visible to the human eye. Good luck!

Mark

Time to find someone that can weld aluminum.

get it welded, and bolt the heads on. do a leakdown test on it. small cracks wont cause the guage to lose alot of pressure so you would have to leave it overnight or something. hopefully your valvetrain is nice and holds or you wont know what's actually leaking. cracks in blocks incaseyou dont know, can cause the car to suck air into the combustion chamber making the car run lean. if the crack is near the water jacket, it could possibly make the car leak antifreeze. i have seen a couple snowmobile engines with distinct cracks in teh block but behind the crack was uncracked aluminum, and they ran fine. of course, the crack would get worse over time and eventually destroy something.

Thanks for your replies. Its hard I guess without pics, but I will post some later tonight. The damage is to the surface which mates with the head gasket. One of the corners of the top of the short-block (where you can see the pistons at the end of the cylinders) has taken some sort of impact on the corner.

As a result, the alum. is 'pushed' in about 2/3mm and the top surface, which the head gasket sits on, is no longer totally flat. Think of what happens to your hood if you read end a car!

Its not protruding much, but possibly by 1/2mm. It is possible to get the top planed to remove this 'bump'? There are no visable cracks anywhere, but I will see if I can find someone who can carry out some sort of thermal scan of the block to check it.

thanks for your replies, I will post in here when the pics are up in the Pics/vids section.

If it isn't in an area where there is a coolant or oil passage, you might be able to just file it down or have the block decked if it's really hairy

Once your pics are up, better advice will follow