Cracked 5.7 block at Starter Bolts

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454cid

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It was traditional for Chevy, Olds, Buick, Cadillac to have no gasket between the cast-iron exhaust manifold and the cast-iron head surface.

I can't see how that would seal, but I've heard it said several times. I think my Buick has gaskets, but I haven't owned it since new either.
 

haroldwca

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+1 on welding the stud and the fracture. Just be sure to run the stud in all the way, and then grind the crack all the way down and weld it back. It will be stronger that way.
 

runnincool

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I had a 350 that did that back in the early 80's, we drilled and tapped the third starter bolt hole, found a cast three bolt starter houseing and welded the crack as best we could. i think it was a nickle rod, heating the cast iron red first, ran that engine for another 10 years.
 

Schurkey

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The engines I worked on were much older. No gaskets. If GM started using gaskets later, I don't know about it.

Again, no mention of exhaust gaskets in my '97 service manual. But I've seen the manuals have errors before.
 

Schurkey

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Frank,
Got any pics of how to mount the brace?
Here's the general idea:

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The important thing is to get the brace that fits your starter and block. BBC and SBC are different; I'm thinking there's more than one SBC brace.
 
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