fool4wheelin wrote:
rancherman wrote:
Whenever I see the 'end' cylinder cracked as yours, I suspect 2 things right off the bat;
1/Cooling issues, either poor circulation, or poor warm up/cool down procedures/running too long with blown head gasket..
2/Ether.
I don't think I ever had a blown head gasket, just a cracked head, but that was on the intake port of #1 cyl. I've never used any Ether, can't say what happened first 100k but its doubtful.
I did have one instance last winter where it was -25°F outside and I couldn't get it started at the end of the day. I did a bunch of key on/crank cylces until I finally threw in the towel and had someone tow me into the shop to let it warm up. It did eventually start, but my #3 GP (the one behind the intake inlet) died in the process. Seems like my exhaust in coolant issues started after this, so maybe I got too much fuel in cyl #4 or something trying to start it?
you can pull your hair out trying to pinpoint the exact cause/start of liner cracks!! No doubt it started as a tiny fissure, and has progressed up to the current length/depth/direction. I've never seen a vertical crack, tied in with a horizontal one! Unusual! I've seen them split ALL the way 'round!
Too much fuel? probably not. Most will stay in aerosol, and gets ejected out during the exhaust stroke if it isn't burned. (most) lol. Now, if you had a slobbering injector: that's another story!!
I wasn't trying to imply any wrong doing by you, or your starting/operating methods.. It could've been doomed long before you actually bought it, it just took this long for the imperfection to deepen enough to allow pressure to pass! Looking at the corrosion of a water port on your deck surface tells me you are going to find some pretty corroded liner(s)
Here is my worst one; before cleaning
After wire brushing; Notice the spot along the rim, this is called 'fretting'. Caused by poor heat transfer.
I'll bet on that fateful day you had it towed, was a day that needed all FOUR cylinders to HIT with authority, otherwise it wouldn't start because of the cold. The crack may have 'blown' through just recently, and that cylinder was lacking in compression... just enough to trip you up..
I just remembered something; I think it was you that I asked if you happened to roll the engine over any when the head was off? The reason I asked, is sometimes, liners will try to move with the pistons. 'sometimes', they'll move just enough to allow crud to fall back down on the mating seat.(there is a lot of 'crap' ' and if so, may become 'cocked'. when the new head it torqued back down, it puts tremendous side pressure on the liner... boink. cracked. We could go on and on with potential causes!! That's kind of water over the dam now..