# Crack in Casting Around Lifter Support and Valley Pan Bolt Threads



## Colorado67GTO (Sep 11, 2014)

Hello All,

I was cleaning my block in preparation of assembly and I noticed a crack in some of the casting around one of the lifter supports, right near where the valley pan bolt threads in. It looks like it is just some extra casting material. It doesn't look like it is structural. 

There was a similar crack on the other side of support, but much smaller and almost off. I barely touched it and it came off. I have attached before and after pictures of that one. 

For the first, bigger crack, do you suggest I knock that off to prevent it coming lose later, leave it alone, or does this need to be fixed? 

I didn't include a picture from underneath, but it looks like all the affected metal is just overhang above the cam bearing. 

My first inclination is to just break it off and be done with it, but I don't want to do something stupid. 

Any help or advice would be appreciated.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

A lot of sharp edges and excess casting material is typically left in the lifter valley. It can break off and fall into the motor, but obviously not typical or the factory would have cleaned the area up more.

I like to clean up the area using my die grinder and carbide cutter to knock off & smooth out those rough areas. It also helps a little in oil return. I enclosed a pic of my 455 block and you can see what I have done. I didn't go crazy trying to smooth thngs to a mirror polish, just get and potential problem areas cleaned up and somewhat contoured in between the lifter bores to aid return oil flow.

Here is my suggestion by looking at your pics, I would definitely remove/clean-up those small pieces that look like they could break off or come loose. The crack in the casting at the lifter brace should be addressed. However, I would not "break" it off with a hammer/chisel/pliers as cast iron is strong but brittle and you don't want that crack to follow some path you rather it not. Instead, I would grind it out using the method I described earlier, or you could even use an electric drill but it would be slow going. You then want to dress it up with a sandpaper roll to smooth it all out and remove any cuts left behind by the cutter.

If you decide to use a die grinder or drill motor, make sure you have a firm grip on the tools and go in very slow so the grinding bit does not "bite" into the cast and kick back on you. Make sure you have eye protection as well. You can clean up some of the other casting while at it, just go slow and be patient. Follow up with a good block washing/clean-up to get any metal particles removed.

If you are not comfortable doing this yourself, you could first have a machine shop look at it and they can advise. I assume that you had the block magnafluxed for cracks first? If not, you could kill 2 birds with one stone by getting the block magnafluxed and inspected -its cheap insurance. :thumbsup:


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## Colorado67GTO (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks Jim. I didn't think to grind it down. That makes sense.

It does raise another question. When I got the block back from the machinist, all of the plugs and the cam bearings were installed. It kind of leaves me with a dilemma. I am hesitant to wash it when I can't get brushes into all the channels, especially the oil rails. I also don't think it would be a good idea to have water under the cam bearings and in other places where I wouldn't be guaranteed to get it all out. 

So do I clean it as best I can without removing all the freeze plugs, oil galley plugs and cam bearings, or do I bite the bullet and pull them all off and then replace them when done?


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Na, I would not do all the removing of stuff. What I might do is tape stuff off to seal the engine.

Run some masking tape over the tops of the cylinders to block off the bores & bolt holes. Tape off the oil holes for the lifter bores with a small piece of tape, then put another piece top and bottom to close them off additionally. Same with the cam bearings, seal them off on each side with tape. 

Don't know if it might be possible to turn the block upside down and seal the cam/valley area with a little tape if you are going to do any clean-up in the cam valley. The more you can contain/collect any grinding dust/metal, the better. 

If you have an air hose and nozzle, I would leave the cam valley alone and I'd simply blow everything out down through the bottom of the block and then blow everything clean at the bottom end. If you don't have the air hose, then I would block things as best I could so I could vacuum up most of the grindings. If possible, I might even set the end of the vacuum hose right next to where I was grinding to suck up some of the dust as I did my grinding.

Once you get it all the grinding done, vacuumed off, remove all the tape, then use a lint free rag and spray the block lightly with WD-40 and wipe to pick up any loose grinding dust. Repeat as necessary and and just clean all surfaces inside and out. Use a flashlight or something to inspect it all. I wiped my cylinders down with WD-40 and you would be surprised how much residue is let after honing. The honing oil/dust can stick in the cross hatching and you can pull a lot of it out with a clean lint free (white) rag and the WD-40. I think I did my cylinders about three times until the rag was clean. The I put a final coating of WD-40 on the cylinders, set it up on end on a piece of cardboard to draw any moisture, double bagged the block, and set it in my house. Looks as good as new and it has been sitting over a year.

I have read that some guys simply wash the block down with **** & span and a garden hose to get it clean, but that requires all oil passage plugs to be out and you need an air gun to get all the water out, so probably not an option here, not needed for the little you are going to do.

That would be my suggestion,tape everything off I could, use a vacuum cleaner to pick up the grinding dust, thoroughly wipe down with WD-40 and lint free rag/paper towels, inspect very thoroughly with a good light, and if all looks good - your done. :thumbsup:


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## Colorado67GTO (Sep 11, 2014)

I am finally getting around to following up on some posts. 

Per PontiacJim's suggestion, I wrapped the block in a trash bag and cut a small hole top and bottom. This allowed me to tape just the area I was grinding. This allowed me to keep the rest of the block clean. 

You can also see that I taped a vacuum hose near the grinding so it would suck up the shavings immediately. 

I then took a Dremel with a metal bur and ground off the cracked part.

Once completed, I wiped the whole area down with brake cleaner before removing the masking. 

Here are some pictures. Hopefully, this helps someone in the future.


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