Why are you doing this?
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Tone, do you ever sleep?
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Jan, if you take a closer look at the second picture, youāll see a crack at the top of the block, probably freeze, Iāll weld this, and replace the cylinder liners because there are obvious signs of wear, in short, a general overhaul.
Jo, I have some weird mental illness to get myself a job like ā¦
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Oops, can you weld cast iron so it does not crack again? I would need to take a course with you.
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Yes you can, but it is no simple task. In the American consumer market this would be used for a boat anchor as the days of cast block repair are all but gone. Locknstitch is the widely accepted way to do it these days which is a series of holes drilled in grid form with inter locking keys that are driven in place to prevent the crack opening. Then along the crack more grid holes with special threaded keys ran down and flushed off, all with a special sealant used. Time consuming process but no heat is used therefore usually no twisting of the piston bore happens and no further machining needed after the crack repair
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Thanks Marcus, Iāve never seen that before, have you tried that method?
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Hi Tone,
Is your block crack the dark line on the side of the block between the water outlets?
If so, I have āVā ground opened, and brass brazed these. Bare brass rods. Flame heated and dipped into flux powder.
Much lower heating involved. Durable repairs.
Brass brazing is a skill. Practice your materials localized pre-heating. The least heat to get rod adhesions flow is better. Practice your dip, dip, rod transfers on other cast iron scrap until confident. Should look like a raised TIG weld in brass.
Watch videos by really good Brazers.
Steve Unruh
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I have not personally but have seen it done several times and has proven a good way to do it. I have brazed a block before as Steve mentions above, and was unsuccessful. I was young and didnāt know what I was doing at the time and it leaked coolant through my repair spot. I have not had a opportunity to try again, most the engines I keep in my stables are robust and donāt crack. The ones I know of that were fixed this way are the infamous ā53ā Cummins 5.9l diesel block that is super prone to cracking
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This master has been engaged in the welding of gray cast iron, aluminum, bronze, brass for 40 years. The welding method is simple, the material must be cleaned well, it is also possible to cut into the crack, then sometimes the welding site is heated to evaporate oil and impurities from the material, otherwise holes appear in the weld. Then weld a maximum of 2 to 3 cm long weld, grind and wait for it to cool down a bit, then continue, sometimes leaving a gap of, say, 3 cm. The second clip shows tig welding, the master used to add material from the electrode.
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See this is why I have such respect for the other side of the pond. A master at his craft. No auto darkening welding helmet. Plain Jane stick welder. Handheld cheap grinder. Itās not junk, it just needs a little fixing. Make due with what you have instead of rush out to buy it new with the fancy plastic card full of money you donāt have. The cigarette never even left his mouth! Not his first rodeo as Wayne would say
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Tone how common is that tractor in your area? I have a friend here who collects old ford tractors in the 600 and 800 series. He commented one time that there are enough parts tractors to make repairs like that not worth doing he will simply find a different tractor out in the woods someone is willing to part with for short money and swap parts.
If I had a cracked block I would definitely look to see what is available that will bolt up as a replacement.
That said being a sleeved motor the repair shouldnāt be too difficult far less risk of failure after it is repaired. I ironicly have a allis Chalmers motor that I had to have pinned and repaired because the only cheap parts tractor I could find at the time has a worse block. That tractor has been used hard here on my farm a lot since I had the block repaired without any issues.
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I suspect Tone and l are quite similar. Making or repairing the thing your self is part of the thrill, even thugh its sometimes not financialy justifyed 
But you sure learn a lot doing repairs like thatā¦
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I welded a cracked water jacket on a six cylinder Mustang engine once. Back then I was too dumb to know you shouldnāt do such things, so I pretty much tried everything. I drilled holes at each end of the crack and ground a shallow V in the crack making sure to not grind all the way through. I then heated the crack with an oxy-acet torch to just below dull red and welded the crack in one pass with 7018 and then slowly backed off the torch heat. The main thing is to not shock the metal by rapid temp changes. It held for about five thousand miles and then I suppose the difference in the expansion and contraction of different types of metals eventually let to a new crack below the weld. I have heard that Nickle rod helps with this temp differential but donāt know for certain. Being that itās just a water jacket. Iād probably weld it and then put a patch over that and weld around that. When all else fails break out the JBWeld.
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Tone I just want to thank you for posting this. It hit me this morning looking at this thread again that I added straight water to my tractor last summer and needed to drain it out before the really cold weather gets here.
So thanks you never know when you can save someone else a very bad day. 
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How do I drive on gengas in the easiest way in an old diesel tractor?
@JO_Olsson , what kind of chains do you have on your MF in the woods?
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Iām no expert, but I have both brazed and nickel stick welded cast iron parts with good success. I heated the parts up slowly, then wrapped afterward in thick insulation to slow the cooling. I welded in short sections with alternating gaps to keep heat even across the part, and peened the welds with a chip hammer as I went.
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OK, I have the same for the Zetor, but it is difficult to get them well, because there is so little space between the tire and the fender on the tractor.
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today is sunday, and we are celebrating and resting, projects are waiting for working days. Otherwise it is abnormally warm and sunny outside, the temperature is almost 15 * C.
I disassembled the engine a few days ago, see what one of the pistons looks like, itās interesting that it still started and had good power, amazing,.,
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That ring on the bottom was an early Ford design which made Fords so reliable, they would keep running even after being worn out. They used it on the V8 flat heads also.
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