Head Material

[drjay0]

I have a set of W-2's that need a little welding around one of the stud holes. The welder(good friend of mine) is a perfectionist and wanted to know what meterial he should order for welding rods. Are those heads cast steel, iron, etc? I looked through every Direct Connection book I have all the way back to 1978 and there is no real mention of the material except that they are cast. These are the standard w-2 not econo or race or aluminum. I'm not concerning with his abilities since he used to weld for Pratt and also Sekorsky. Anybody know what rods would get the job done correct?

Thanks
Jason

 

[perfacar]

hi, they are made of cast iron. for welding, use a 3/32 dia cast rod or use machinable nickle rod. do not heat the head up!!! weld at room tempature.
use a slag hammer and knock slag off, keep hammering on the weld area, this will stress releive it. weld about an inch at a time, knock off slag, let it cool to the touch, then weld again. this takes some time, but you will have a good repair. I've welded lots of cast iron this method, this is from a pipefitter.

 

[moper]

I'm no cast iron welder..but I'm curious perfacar, why not heat it? You're the first person I've ever heard say dont heat it. (not starting a fight, just asking..)

 

[perfacar]

hi, the idea is to keep the cast iron from stress and warpage, by welding at room tempature (70), when you weld with 3/32 rod and weld short distance, that keeps it more stable. then by knocking off weld slag and keep hammering on weld, this will stress relieve the weld and surrounding area. I was taught this method when I was an apprentice pipefitter by my journeyman fitter. I had to weld a water heat exchanger cast iron cap end.
it was still in use after 25 years, no leaks. I have welded blocks, intake and exhaust manifolds, heads this way. I know, the experts say to heat the hell out of it before hand. I'm a pipefitter/welder, what do I know?

 

[340mopar]

Perfacar's way is a good way to weld cast iron if you don't have the right oven for heating and cooling the cast gradually. If you weld a little bit at a time like he says the chance of cracking is vey minimal because of it keeps the heat low. If you are going to weld a big area in one shot then the whole item will have to be heated evenly and cooled gradually which if done wrong will turn it into a big piece of junk. Some peoples idea of heating a cylinder head it to take rose bud torch, heat the area to be welded, then weld it. This is not what the experts mean by heating the item to be welded.