An engine block has all the main components that comprise the bottom part of a motor. It is also referred to as a cylinder block. The crankshaft spins, pistons are some of the components you will find in the engine block. The camshaft is another component you might find in an engine block. An engine block is created from an aluminum alloy on contemporary vehicles but the engine block of most older trucks and vehicles are made with cast iron. The metal construction of an engine block provides it with strength and the ability to transfer heat from the combustion processes to the central cooling system in an effective way. So, the material used for an engine block is either aluminum alloy or gray cast iron. Each of these metals has great thermal conductivity and fluidity in the molten state.
The engine block in your car is something you should protect very well to prevent it from cracking. An engine block will crack at a temperature of 32 degrees. If you don’t want this to happen to your engine block, then don’t leave it under this temperature range. Because if you do, you will need to repair or replace it completely and that will require you to spend some amount of money.
The engine block in your vehicle covers the cylinders and their components, crankcase, and water cooling system. The engine block is very vital to a car because it helps to support different components of the engine. It transmits heat from friction to the atmosphere and coolant and also provides support to the auxiliary devices and lubrication circuit like the alternator. Due to how important an engine block is, the driver of a vehicle needs to always maintain his car to hinder any form of destruction to the internal parts of a car. The damage that is done to the various parts of the engine can be caused by inadequate oil and overheating.
You must monitor your engine block often and see that you maintain it adequately so that it keeps functioning properly. If you don’t want to have frequent issues with your engine block, ensure that you take its maintenance seriously. Maintaining your engine block will help it last long, it will also enhance its performance and ensure economical usage of fuel.
Some of the components of an engine block are:
- Crankcase: This component is located at the bottom of contemporary engine blocks and it covers the crankshaft.
- Deck: This is the upper surface of the engine block where the head of the cylinder rests.
- Oil galleries or passages: These permit oil to get to the cylinder head and the crankshaft.
- Cylinders: These are the spaces where pistons travel. They are usually big and they have well-formed holes to create a seal with the piston. You can measure the size and power of cylinders by their numbers and size.
Faults, ancillary mountings, coolant, core plugs, engine mounts are some other components of an engine block.
An aluminum engine block has an iron sleeve pressed into it for the piston bores, or a unique hard plating applied to the bores after machining. Initially, an aluminum engine block was merely a block of metal holding the cylinder bores, oil passages, the crankcase, and the water cooling jacket. This water cooling jacket is an empty system of passages, that circulates the coolant in the engine block. This water cooling jacket covers the engine’s cylinders, which could be 4, 6, or 8 and they also carry the pistons.
When the cylinder head is well-positioned at the top of the engine block, the pistons go up and down within the cylinders and turn the crankshaft, which eventually drives the wheels of the car. The oil pan is located at the bottom part of the engine block, it acts as a reservoir of oil for the oil pump to tap from, before supplying the moving parts and the oil passages.
An engine block of a car is made to last for a lifetime. But there are sometimes that certain things can go wrong. The porous engine block cracked cylinders, and external coolant leaks are some of the major engine block failures. They are explained in detail below.
1. Porous engine block
A porous engine block is caused by contaminants that found their way into the metal during the process of production. If the casting is void of these contaminants, the engine block will not experience any fault for a long period. After a while, a badly cast engine block can begin to seep and leak, whether it’s the coolant or the oil, from the parts where the faults are. You cannot do much about a porous engine block, because it should have been bad from the day it was molded. The leaks that may be experienced from a porous engine block should not be serious and if they show up within the producer’s warranty period, the engine block should be replaced for free.
2. Cracked or worn cylinder
Usually, after thousands of miles, the smooth machined walls of the cylinders will start to wear out to an extent where the piston rings cannot seal against them very well. But sometimes, the cylinder wall can get cracked, which will immediately lead to a motor requiring a rebuild. Worn cylinders can be widely bored, for oversized pistons, and in serious cases, (or in aluminum blocks) iron sleeves can be introduced to make the cylinder walls work very well again.
3. External engine coolant leak
Do you see a small pool of water or antifreeze beneath the engine of your car? It could be caused by a leak from the radiator, a loose hose, water pump, or heater core, but sometimes it could also be caused by the engine block itself. The engine block can crack and start leaking, or a freeze-out plug could rust out or work its way loose. You can easily substitute freeze-out plugs but engine block cracks are normally terminal.
How cold does it have to be to bust an engine block?
A temperature of 32 degrees is enough to bust an engine block. So, if you don’t want your engine block to bust, avoid leaving it under that temperature range.
How do you know if your engine block is cracked?
A lot of engine block cracks are caused by contaminants entering the metal part during the production process. As a result of this, a badly cast block can begin to leak, either coolant or oil, from the crack itself. This can lead to engine oil mixing with antifreeze, or antifreeze mixing with engine oil, but the latter normally occurs when an engine block has a deep crack. Normally, when antifreeze gets contaminated with engine oil, it gives out a smell that leads to the production of smoke from the exhaust.
What are the other things you will see to know if your engine block is cracked? Check them out below.
- Frozen oil or coolant in the radiator.
- Leaking coolant or oil.
- Discoloration in the engine oil or antifreeze.
- Engine overheating triggered by leaking antifreeze.
- Clear engine smoke.
- Poor performance of the engine is caused by low engine compression.
- Too much smoke from the exhaust.
- Low levels of coolant.
You can repair cracked engine blocks but you should replace them completely with either a new engine, salvage engine, or a rebuilt engine.
Out of the numerous problems that can cause a cracked engine block, the major one is caused by excess heat, which is normally caused by a problem with the coolant. When this happens, the overheated parts of the engine get enlarged but the cooler parts do not. This, in turn, can lead to placing too much stress on the engine block, which can then lead to a crack in the engine to form.
The failure of the water pump can also lead to a cracked engine block because the water pump can prevent coolant from flowing through the system as it should, which can then lead to serious overheating. Also, casting failure during the injection molding process can lead to an engine block’s metal getting thinner in certain parts. The moment heat is applied to these parts, thin cracks begin to form.
What does a cracked engine block sound like?
A cracked engine block has this grinding sound that you can hear screeching from your engine when you get it started. The sound is an unpleasant one that will tell you that something is wrong with your engine block.
One major sign you will see when your engine block gets cracked is smoke coming out of the engine. When you see this sign, get your engine fixed immediately so that your car’s engine will not develop other faults.
Difference between the blown head gasket and a cracked block
A blown head gasket or a cracked block is different.
A cracked block is fixed by installing a new engine–attempting to repair it is not worth it. The crack allows leakage to occur based on where it is positioned.
A blown head gasket will need a removal of the head of the engine and you will need to also replace the gasket. This repair is not an expensive one and you can leave the engine in the car. The blown head gasket may lead to a loss of compression in one or two cylinders and also a possible mixture of engine oil and cooling water.
One of the major causes of a blown head gasket is overheating.
One of the major causes of a cracked block in freezing water that is not mixed with anti-freeze.
Overheating can be caused by water freezing in the radiator that can lead to a blown head gasket and this same thing can occur at the same time the block gets cracked.
How to fix cracked engine block
Your engine block can get cracked in different ways. The common way is freezing during winter as a result of antifreeze or not utilizing incessant topping up with normal water that dilutes the antifreeze. Engine blocks can also crack due to overheating, and or its impact – if a conrod breaks away from the crankshaft (cambelt snapping or catastrophic bearing failure) it will normally shift a hole in the side of an engine block but, if it doesn’t, it is best to monitor the engine block to see if the impact cracked it.
Before you start stitching the crack on the engine block, try to first examine the full length of the crack with the aid of a magnetic particle test. First clean off the affected part of the engine block, then get it coated with the use of white background paint. Place a powerful magnet across the crack at different points so that it develops a magnetic field across the suspected cracked area.
Fine magnetic particles that are suspended in a fluid are then washed onto the area, and these are gathered where the magnetic field is suspended by the crack, thus creating a black line across the crack.
Before trying to repair a cracked engine block, ensure that your car is well supported and also make sure that the lifting gear is serviceable.
If you cannot fix the cracked engine block, you will need a specialist to help you remove the engine block or fix it. Create a safe working environment for the specialist that is visiting your workshop and ensure that electrical power supplies are safe.
There are many specialists around you that you can contact to fix your cracked engine block. Ask people around for how excellent their services are before reaching out to them so that they don’t worsen the condition of your cracked engine block.
Will cold water crack the engine block?
Coldwater will only crack a very hot engine block. But if you pour cold water when the engine block is not hot, it will not crack the engine block. Pouring cold water on the engine block will crack it because of the immediate temperature change. If you want to pour cold water while the engine block is still warm, you need to pour it gradually while the engine block is running in park or neutral.
Conclusion
Ensure you always keep the engine block in your car protected because it is a very important component of your car that can affect the performance of your car if it is affected. The engine block of your car will crack at a temperature of 32 degrees. If you don’t want this to happen to your engine block, then don’t leave it under this temperature range. Because if you do, you will need to repair or replace it completely and that will require you to spend some amount of money. Don’t pour cold water directly in a very hot engine block because it could get it cracked.