Massey 135

[Jimmy Joe]

A friend of mine was overhauling his Massey and he said he was told to run several beads of weld vertically in the sleeves and they would pull out. Don't know if this works or not you may want to check into it.
JJ

 

[Texas Blues]

Thanks Jimmy, Im going to take the block to the local Massey dealer and let him pull the sleeves with a sleeve puller tool. I tried to find someone who rents them, but no luck. I also priced the tool itself, around 500.00, no luck there either lol. I would rather spend the 500.00 on a rebuild kit. I still need to chip away the jb weld on the block and see what its covering. Depending on what I see, the block may have to be repaired/replaced anyway, so thats putting a hold on the sleeve pulling for now. Will be inspecting the block this weekend.

 

[Texas Blues]

Well guys, this is what I found after chipping away the jb weld on the block. Looks like someone welded a bead at one time, and the center of the weld is now corroded and missing the bead. I think it was leaking, at least enough to corrode the weld in the center which I wire wheeled away and cleaned up some. Not sure what the screws and washers are. I guess need some opinions from a welder. What do ya'll think?

 

[flusher]

Well guys, this is what I found after chipping away the jb weld on the block. Looks like someone welded a bead at one time, and the center of the weld is now corroded and missing the bead. I think it was leaking, at least enough to corrode the weld in the center which I wire wheeled away and cleaned up some. Not sure what the screws and washers are. I guess need some opinions from a welder. What do ya'll think?

The crack, fortunately, is easily accessible. So if you don't want to try welding, maybe Lock n Stitch is the way to go.

LOCK-N-STITCH Inc. homepage: Cast iron crack repair, cast iron welding, thread repair inserts

 

[jones6780]

I really don't see a weld there. I can see the crack and I would only guess the the screws held on a data plate or something. One type of repair we did years ago in the Army was to stop drill the ends of the crack, that is to drill a hole that is centered on each end of the crack. That would stop the crack from growing longer. Thread the holes, apply sealer and bolt a cover plate over the crack. We would drill a hole every inch or so along the crack and add a bolt. Don't drill through water jackets or oil galleries that would really be a mess.

Russell

 

[Texas Blues]

Thanks jones, the first thing I am going to do is take it to a welder this sunday and see what he can do. This guy has been welding for 40 years, I would hope he knows how to weld cast by now. There wasnt any evidence of water leaking out of the crack, at least there wasnt any running down the block from the crack. The crack itself was pretty rusty. I wire wheeled it clean. The crack looks to be over the water jacket so I shouldnt drill if I dont have to. I will let ya'll know what the welder says/does. Thanks!

 

[Jimmy Joe]

Your project looks very interesting to me, I wouldn't mind having something like that to do during the long winters here in Wisconsin. If only I had a heated shop. Do you think you will have too much invested by the time you are done? It's still the fun of the project that counts and if you plan on keeping it or selling it to a close friend or relative it doesn't matter what you have invested time or money!
I hope you keep us posted as you have so far. When I am on this site I always make a point to check out this thread.
JJ

 

[Texas Blues]

No Jimmy, I dont think I will have too much invested. I paid next to nothing for the tractor. If I have to sink a couple of K into it, I will still come out ahead. I will be keeping the tractor, and it will be worked. I have no intentions of making it a showroom restore job, just need the motor to be solid. As time passes, I will paint it, but getting the motor finished and getting the tractor useable will be my first goal. Thanks!

 

[Texas Blues]

Slow going guys, the welder still has my block. Supposed to call him next week and check status. If he is able to weld the crack successfully, the next stop for the block will be the Massey dealer to get the sleeves pulled. I guess Im not in a huge hurry to spend money, but I sure would like to have this thing back together by summer.

 

[Texas Blues]

The welder ground down the cracked area only to find a few more hairline cracks coming off areas of the main crack. At this point I have already started looking for a good core block, and wont be trying to repair this block. Found a few core blocks in the area and might get one of those, but am still looking for a whole used motor. I found a diesel repair shop near here who has a core block he said he would sell for 300.00, and for another 150.00 he will boil it out and remove the sleeves, seems like a good price. I cant afford a rebuilt short block at this time (at least not the ones I have been seeing) and they wont take my block as a core because its cracked. Its still all good though, I bought the tractor for a song, and also with the intentions of rebuilding the motor. Putting a grand or so into the motor, I still have a good deal. Thanks TB