I saw an artical a while back on welding cast iron. I couldn't find it on a search of forums so if any one could help me out that would be great as I have a iron head I need to repair. I also played with the idea of welding up the open side of the chamber to make closed chamber heads out of my heads. They are an old set of stage IV heads that I have had for a while so there is no cash out lay and I have a friend with a engine shop. Juts a fun lets see what if project as I know that there is far better heads on the market.

I've stick welded it a few times.. Never an cylinder head,,, but here's a few things to look for.. First, and MOST importantly,, you have to PREHEAT the area around the "crack" or hole or whatever you plan on filling up... There are certain "sticks" that are made out of plastic or wax that let you know if it is hot enough to work on... A welding supply store would be your best bet.. Ask them,,, they sell stuff for cast welding all the time... Certain rods you need.. I think they are called NYROD.. There is also a cast iron rod available.. The SECOND MOST IMPORTANT thing to do is,, after you weld it,,, you NEED TO wrap it up in a welding blanket and STICK IT in an oven (like the one at home) and BAKE IT for an hour or two (the more the better) to get the temperatures consistent throughout the entire piece your welding.. THEN TURN THE OVEN OFF and leave the part wrapped up in the blanket,, in the oven,,, OVERNIGHT!!!! It needs to cool down VERY SLOWLY AND EVENLY.... This is when your weld job WILL CRACK because of the different density's of the weld compared to the cast area around the weld... Just as cryogenic treating (three hundred below zero) tends to "stretch out" and "relieve tensions" in the metal,,, using the COOL DOWN SLOWLY approach tends to act SOMEWHAT the same way with welding cast... It CAN BE DONE,,, if you take your time and do it RIGHT!!!

another thing,,, If its a CRACK,, you want to plunge out the entire crack and MAKE SURE none of the crack is left unmachined out.... The crack,, even if welded together,, will CONTINUE cracking UNLESS you remove and radius the entire crack out.... I am NOT SAYING that POSITIVELY it will crack again,,, but,, WHY TAKE THE CHANCES!!!

Drill the ends of the crack, pre heat the item, use
high nickle rod back into the pre heat... let cool
slowly... I wouldnt waste the time trying to fill the
chamber, I would mill it... all that heat would just
cause problems
EDIT
V the crack out good

If you are looking for crack repair Lock-N-Stitch works well http://www.locknstitch.com/ and many machine shops use this procedure.

If looking convert an open chamber head to closed chamber you need someone with expertiese in this area. I understand Indy Cylinder Head does cast welding. Sure there are others out there also.

There is also a Spray Weld technique that is used on crankshafts but not sure this will work in your application.

Hope this helps
Greg

I would practice on another piece of cast iron before attempting it. If you don't do it right and it's very easy to do, all you'll have is scrap metal.

IMO...I wouldn't waste any time welding the chambers for little gain and the potential loss of the heads. Drilling out the ends of the crack don't always stop it. I learned the hard way and leave it to the repair shops now... COL-WELD.

http://www.enginerebuilderssupply.com/

Someone was welding in the combustion chambers long ago to turn 906's and such to closed chamber. think they were pricey though??

Hey all thanks for all the replies. I went to my welding supply today and got myself some nickel welding rods. They are weld mold 750high carbon nickel rods for repairing all cast iron applications.Also excellent for building up shy areas and filling holes or cracks in castings. just what I need. My heads are not cracked they have a burn grove between the center chambers on the gasket surface. That will be easy to fix. The chamber fill is just a thought but not a for sure. I have some old junk iron heads to practice on and if I can't do it myself I won't be paying some one to do it.AS I said there are much better heads out there but this is a for fun project called warmed over left overs as in all left over speed parts in the garage to go into a 67 plymouth and see how fast it will go. The recipe is a 030 over 440 with 11 to 1 TRWs stage IV heads a 528 mopar solid cam and a six pac. stay tuned....

Thats what mine is! All left over stuff laying in the garage

Good Luck

awsome

Engine masters magazine did an article on spray welding in their winter 2007 edition. They used mopar stage V heads, they welded up the chambers and widened the ports.Maintenance Welding Inc were the company responsible for the kit. Seemed to work really well.Try enginemasters.com, there might be a link.