Epoxy?

[bruce]

After playing with the modeling clay in my ports on the flowbench all week, I need to figureout what I am going to use to replace it with epoxy.

Anyone care to share some tips on what they found that works and what doesn't?

[86rocco]

No personal experience but I've heard of people using JB weld for intake ports, the slow cure type not the 5 minute stuff. I have no idea what one could use on the exhaust side.

[RRBD]

I have tried many. Moglice from Diamont works extremely well but is expensive. Z-spar is as good as it gets for the intake ports, its a putty so its easy to mold and as long as everthing is clean it will last/stick forever. I've had it in the intake manifold and heads of my daily driver for a couple years now and havent seen any come out the tail pipes and It sits outside in the Mn winters. I let it warm up though......while driving it to daycare!

Scott

[86rocco]

[color=#000000]These guys sell a variety of epoxies for this purpose including JB-weld and Z-spar, one of their epoxies is good up to 2300

[JRM]

Ive had good luck with the goodson brand epoxy. Ive used it to fill the heat riser crossover in sbc heads with no problems

[atvporterguy]

I used jb weld and it started to peal way on the edges. I was on a aluminim head. I talk to some one that has been doing this for years and he said jb weld isnt that good for aluminim, but he has been using marinetex for quit a while with no porblems. Here what the jb did. See the dark line where the jb and the head meets that the pealing. And in the second pic you can see it wasnt holding that well cause it came out in one piece.

[larrycavan]

The finish on your intake port is too smooth in the area where the peeling started. JB Weld needs something to grab onto. After applying the epoxy, I've heated up the head to the point where the JB weld get's quite soft and starts to liquify. It beomes pliant enough to run into the voids of the scuffed up surface better.

In cases where a build up is required, it must be done in layers.

[Unkl Ian]

Devcon makes a product specifically for Aluminum.

Havn't heard first hand of anything that will live
in an exhaust port,besides weld.

[larrycavan]

About 25 years ago [man am I getting old] I lived next door to a guy that used to work on antique cars. He had an old flathead ford with a cracked block. One of his buddies worked for the city sewer authority and got hold of some epoxy they used to repair water mains. They repaired the block with that stuff and the car ran for at least a year that I knew of. Might still be running with it for all I know.

jamestowndistributors.com has a product called metl weld that looks pretty interesting.

Larry

[Dom G]

The best epoxy I have found for cylinder head work is sold by Manley Performance Products. They carry two epoxies.

One is called " Miracle Seal Epoxy" (part #40180) that will live in exhaust ports and can handle temperatures up to 1350 degrees. I have used it extensively in both race heads and street heads to fill exhaust heat crossovers as well as to change runner shapes. Have never had a failure.

The other is called " Magic Seal Epoxy" (part #40187) that is a lower temperature product designed for intake ports and intake manifolds.

I know that a number of highly regarded cylinder head shops use miracle seal epoxy because it works well.

Dom

[atvporterguy]

some thing to grab onto, like these? Not only were these pockets added but the finish was rough. It doesnt show it in pictures through. But thanks for the input, next time i will be exctra carefull to make sure it is rougher

[gofaster]

Joe mondello sells an excellent epoxy for intake ports called Splash Zone A-788.

Technical Information Line: 805-237-9185
Orders Only: 888-666-3355

[flowmetrics]

I used epoxy 2 times with very different results
1. i used an epoxy from Wurth (germany) in the intake ports of an aircooled engine with very bad results. maybe was the temperature too high... i do not know...
2. at past i used devcon epoxy in my 2 stroke kart engine (inside the crankcase) with no problem

George

[madman]

JB WELD, i used it in the intake Port of a Ducati 900 Supersport Desmo Years Ago. It survived countless thrashings and never came loose. NOW i must add my heads port was roughed up degreased well clean dry then I put the epoxy filled head into my oven and let it cure at a few hundred degrees, i think 250 or so. This helped to really toughen it bake it, I also used the epoxy idea as a kid racing 2.5 cc rossi engines in Goodyear Racers. Due to the high Nitromethane content and hi compression ratios the glow plug seals would actually fail, by epoxy covering the plug tip carefully and baking in the oven this solved our reliability problems and we never suffered prfrom those again,. Hope this helps im the new guy. LOl Madman

[blaktopr]

I just tried the Splashzone on the top of the heads above the intake runners. Did it like Larry M said using thinner instead of water. I still have to seal it once I am done but so far the noise from hitting the epoxy transfers to the cast iron so it seems to have made a good bond. Not to mention I been having a nut and washer crush down a little on it when I bolt it to the bench with no problems. Roughed up the metal, took a center punch and made hundreds of indents, then cleaned with thinner then acetone. I had some heat under the head and it went on like putty but then "flowed" a little before starting to harden. I think when that happened it really got into those little dimples I made.