Cracked Block?

1bad89lx · Aug 17, 2006

Maybe this is a stupid question, but would a car run with a cracked block? I am looking at a Mustang that has the "freeze plugs" out. The car runs. If it had a cracked block, would it still run?

GT40XStang9 · Aug 17, 2006

It would depend on the size and location of the crack.

Flavadave4 · Aug 17, 2006

yeah......like he said its going to be where the cracks are that is going to determine that

R2D2 · Aug 17, 2006

expansion plugs out? Like popped out? If so the block is junk

1bad89lx · Aug 17, 2006

sbftech said:
expansion plugs out? Like popped out? If so the block is junk

I disagree. What would make you say that?

1bad89lx · Aug 17, 2006

Maybe I should explain a little more. I went to look at this mustang in the local paper. The car has been sitting for a year or so. We jumped it and got it running. It ran good. It was leaking coolant as fast as you could put it in so we didn't run it long. I haven't had the chance to crawl underneath it yet. He said it was a freeze plug that popped out.

R2D2 · Aug 17, 2006

ya they dont just pop out, the block twists, flexes and then they pop out.

1bad89lx · Aug 17, 2006

sbftech said:
ya they dont just pop out, the block twists, flexes and then they pop out.

I've read many posts where the owner replaces the freeze plugs and everything is fine and dandy. How would the car run with a cracked block? I mean, would it run at all? Worst case, I can part the car out and get my money back but I think it's fixable. Am I missing something here? I can fix little things but I want to make sure I'm not getting in over my head with a busted block or something.

R2D2 · Aug 17, 2006

ya owners replace expansion plugs when rebuilding, NOONE just replaces them with the engine in the car for no reason. Its not a wear item. Hey what do I know

1bad89lx · Aug 17, 2006

sbftech said:
ya owners replace expansion plugs when rebuilding, NOONE just replaces them with the engine in the car for no reason. Its not a wear item. Hey what do I know

You misunderstood me. I'm not saying people change their feeze plugs when they change their oil, like it's a routine maintenance item. What I am saying is that sometimes the freeze plugs have popped out and the owners replaced them (installed new ones) without having any damage to the motor.

R2D2 · Aug 17, 2006

in the last 20 years and dozens and dozens of my own personal engines it has never happened to me. Furthermore in my 9 years working at Ford I never saw it once. The one time I did experience it was when a friend I built a motor for (351w) was at the track, popped a plug and ran over his own antifreeze and clipped the wall. This was a serious HP application and the block twisted and flexed resulting in the plug popping. In my experiences it has never happened. Something has to happen to make this possible. The only way to make sure everything is fine is mag the block.

1bad89lx · Aug 17, 2006

sbftech said:
in the last 20 years and dozens and dozens of my own personal engines it has never happened to me. Furthermore in my 9 years working at Ford I never saw it once. The one time I did experience it was when a friend I built a motor for (351w) was at the track, popped a plug and ran over his own antifreeze and clipped the wall. This was a serious HP application and the block twisted and flexed resulting in the plug popping. In my experiences it has never happened. Something has to happen to make this possible. The only way to make sure everything is fine is mag the block.

Fair enough. I'm thinking they didn't have the proper mixture of coolant/water over the winter and the plug (s) popped out. I was mainly curious if the car would run at all if the block was cracked. The car seems to run fine for what little time we had it running.

R2D2 · Aug 17, 2006

1bad89lx said:
Fair enough. I'm thinking they didn't have the proper mixture of coolant/water over the winter and the plug (s) popped out. I was mainly curious if the car would run at all if the block was cracked. The car seems to run fine for what little time we had it running.

Ya it will run, for how long? Who knows. The worst case scenario is you pop another one back in, it pops out later, you run over your own coolant and hang on. Most likely what you suspect is what happened. That water has a long way to expand and must exert a fair amount of pressure to pop the plug out on it's own. I would err on the side of caution and use it as a bargaining tool to get the car for next to nothing.

1bad89lx · Aug 17, 2006

He was asking $700. I got him down to $500. I figure I could part it out of nothing else. It has Magnaflox exhaust and a digital dash.

1991vert · Aug 17, 2006

how's the body on the car? just go to the yard and get a 5.0

1bad89lx · Aug 17, 2006

The body is a 3/4 out out of 10. Rust on the passenger side. I have wanted to find a car to take to the dragstrip. If I can buy this for $500 and fix it for cheap, I thought I would give it a shot. I don't think it's worth putting a junk yard motor in it.

stang8urimport · Aug 17, 2006

I, also, have been a tech for years and I have NEVER seen a freeze plug just "pop out" That's rediculous. They usually will rust from the inside out and create a small pin hole that gets larger and larger with time.

I've seen blocks that are split right down the middle and make it home from teh track. Usually the block will only crack under extreme hp, not from just beating the crap out of a stock motor.

Nick

1bad89lx · Aug 18, 2006

Is it possible that it could be a coolant line? Are there any hoses that have coolant in them at the back of the motor?

1bad89lx · Aug 18, 2006

I bought it. $500. It's at the mechanic getting two new freeze plugs put in for $100. All I have to do is replace the quadrant now. It's stripped or something.

ls1beater4eva · Aug 18, 2006

well i had baught a 91 gt and told it ran fine but blew a head gasket b/c some retard only tighten the heads to 60ftpounds lol. well he drove the car for about 60 miles while hot surpiseingly it didnt granade itself well it wound up being cracked between num 6-7 the car ran hot but was still drivable as long as it didnt have a rad cap on lol i wouldnt recomend this though. lol

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