This will teach me for wanting to get all the gauges working on the instrument cluster. I replaced the coolant temp sender and torqued it down to the stock 5.0L intake spec, completely oblivous to the fact I have a GT40 lower. Anyways, guess I torqued it down too much as I was doing a coolant flush yesterday and noticed water hissing around the temp sender. Shut the car off and saw the more than a hairline fracture.
This is the first time anything like this has cracked on me, so I'm not sure which direction to take. I am debating whether to get it welded or look for a used lower locally/ebay. I called a few shops yesterday and was told they'd have to look at it before giving me a quote to fix. How much do you think this route would cost (I'll need the hole for that sender re-tapped as well)? I have also read something about getting it drilled and pinned at the same time, but I am unfamiliar with that terminology . Assuming the machine shop does a good job, how much longevity should I expect from this weld? If I can get 5 years+ out of the job it'd be worth it. If it's just gonna crack in a year or two, I'm not sure I should bother.
Now aside from durability, another reason I was thinking about getting a good used lower is my plan (before this incident) was to get the motor rebuilt/freshened up in the spring. I wanted to bore to 306, a nice set of aluminum heads, and cam to match the heads and gt40 intake (I love the tubular look so I'm keeping this). Certainly nothing crazy power wise, but will the increased flow make welding my current lower a poor choice?
Thanks for shedding some light on a crack noobie
This is the first time anything like this has cracked on me, so I'm not sure which direction to take. I am debating whether to get it welded or look for a used lower locally/ebay. I called a few shops yesterday and was told they'd have to look at it before giving me a quote to fix. How much do you think this route would cost (I'll need the hole for that sender re-tapped as well)? I have also read something about getting it drilled and pinned at the same time, but I am unfamiliar with that terminology . Assuming the machine shop does a good job, how much longevity should I expect from this weld? If I can get 5 years+ out of the job it'd be worth it. If it's just gonna crack in a year or two, I'm not sure I should bother.
Now aside from durability, another reason I was thinking about getting a good used lower is my plan (before this incident) was to get the motor rebuilt/freshened up in the spring. I wanted to bore to 306, a nice set of aluminum heads, and cam to match the heads and gt40 intake (I love the tubular look so I'm keeping this). Certainly nothing crazy power wise, but will the increased flow make welding my current lower a poor choice?
Thanks for shedding some light on a crack noobie