Repairing a cracked cylinder head

So I bought Phillip Franklins D&J stg2 cylinder head that was in the classifieds. It has cracks in several spots between the seats and I was wondering if anyone has ever had a head successfully repaired? I called Midwest Cylinder Head in Iowa and they said they can furnace weld it and it will be just like new. Others have suggested pinning the cracks, I just wanted to see if anyone here had any experience.

Its just such a nice head, that cost $5k I hate to scrap it without exploring possible options for repair.

I appreciate it!

I know there is special welding processes out there for welding cast iron. The machine shop that did my Machine work offers it specifically for cracked heads and blocks. Not really sure how well it works. But the furnace welding sounds pretty BA. I also read an article a year or two back where a company was 3D printing repairs on cast iron as well. If we can 3D print titanium alloys and laser weld cracks not visible to the naked eye anything is possible with enough money lol.

Check with Mountain High Performance in Colorado, they repair heads as well.

Dom_c13b said:

Check with Mountain High Performance in Colorado, they repair heads as well.

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I called them and they would try to drill and plug the cracks, but I would have to send it to them before they can let me know if they would be able to do it or not. I appreciate the lead.

SPEEDSHIFT said:

I called them and they would try to drill and plug the cracks, but I would have to send it to them before they can let me know if they would be able to do it or not. I appreciate the lead.

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Please do not drill/pin cracks in the head; it very rarely holds pressure. In my experience, your best bet is to have the head pressure tested(in hot water). If it doesn't leak, run it! If it does start to leak, have the entire underside of the head spray-welded and remachined.

mhuggler said:

Please do not drill/pin cracks in the head; it very rarely holds pressure. In my experience, your best bet is to have the head pressure tested(in hot water). If it doesn't leak, run it! If it does start to leak, have the entire underside of the head spray-welded and remachined.

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I had a head that was done and the drilled/threaded set screws to hold the seats in(brilliant plan) I always was fighting issues with it leaking coolant. My annual ritual was to run some Iron tite in the coolant system, and it would hold a pressure test for a couple of passes, and then I just would run the coolant level, and drain it down after pulling.

So far I have called about 30 places over the last two days and it seems like furnace welding is the best way to repair my head. A few of the shops recommend using, or use Midwest Cylinder Head themselves for the repairs.

They are the only place that offers a warranty and guaranteed it is non issue repair. They say once it is done, you cannot tell anything has been welded, doesn't even show up during magnafluxing.

It is really expensive though, they quoted me $900 for just the welding or $1500 completely rebuilt. Still cheaper than a new race head though.

http://www.midwestcylinderhead.com/index.php