Engine Block Stitching

Hi,

Just found a crack in my engine block and am weighing up my options. Looking into having it stitched, wondered if anyone with any experience could give me some idea as to what it'll cost?

just weld it up, i'm sure that will be fine

In all seriousnessness, probably get a recon unit, or if you feel up to it, just get a new block and rebuild the engine.

What engine is it ? 2.25 units share a block on petrol/diesel. So many around they are cheap.
Hard to say on block stitching without seeing the job but even a modest 4 or 5 hours work for the £40 to £60 per hour charged ?
Its a no brainer, second hand block and rebore etc.

ABloke4 said:

Hi,

Just found a crack in my engine block and am weighing up my options. Looking into having it stitched, wondered if anyone with any experience could give me some idea as to what it'll cost?

Click to expand...

Metal stitching can provide a surprisingly good repair. It can be a bit of a minefield to make a choice about it though. The vast majority of firms offering "cold stitching" are in the East Midlands and this is because they all originate with one individual and one firm (who is going to remain forever nameless) and a series of fall - outs between individuals which led to the formation of new companies. A proper stitching job costs quite a lot of money but it can (in the right application) be a lot cheaper than a proper welding job. A cheap stitching job is a waste of money. I'd recommend Technilok for a proper job (embarrasingly if you knew my real name you would see it bandied all over some of their literature because I was generous enough to sign the appropriate document. I don't get any money for saying this but Technilok will do a good job, they will be honest about whether or not stitching is appropriate and they will cost quite a lot of money.Ask for David Baker. The only alternative to stitching is welding and the only way to do this properly is by pre-heating the casting in a muffle, gas welding with cast iron rod and then doing a controlled cool over 1 to 2 days. This nearly always works. Stabbing at it with an arc welder sometimes works for a while and sometimes doesn't. The "have a go Charlies" with the arc welders will always swear that their technique is perfect but if you buy into that you also have to buy into the idea that some very experienced and highly qualified (Lloyds certificated) welders with muffles and oxy acetylene skills are just completely wrong.
If you have your block stitched then it can never be properly repaired by weld again without damaging the stitching.
As someone already said: Another block is the best option *unless* it is very very important to you to retain the original item with it's engine number.There are plenty of good second hand blocks available... I know what I'd do....

In my opinion your better of changing the block as it's not always clear if the weld has cured it or made it worse and you can guarantee that if it doesn't hold it will be when you need to get some where in a hurry
I wouldn't buy a recon block these days I would buy a complete engine of eBay then tear it down and replace all the seals rings and bearings where needed and then change the unit over its easier.
Although depends on your engine.