Pretty sure I found block rot...

[mr_maxime]

While changing out the water pump hoses, I started cleaning the VOD. Coolant wasnt leaking as far as I know. Everything looked mostly dry and filled with walnut shells from stripping the car, but it looks like there is some rot.





I feel sick now

[mr_maxime]

Here's what it looked like after taking the intake off. It was pretty dry with a rats nest in it

https://imgur.com/Im5MFuR

[Bitsyncmaster]

My valley looked smooth when I cleaned it. If yours is not leaking yet, I would coat it with something. I used rust-oleum paint and just brushed it on.

[mark w]

I used POR-15 to coat my VOD

[kings1527]

Honestly, I'm not really sure what I'm looking at. Are you just referring to the roughness on what looks like the sides? I know the casts of the engine varied at that time with some being more porous than others but that didn't necessarily translate into anything meaningful if proper maintenance was involved. If the roughness is only on the sides and not down at the bottom where coolant would settle if there were a long standing leak, I don't know if I'd worry about it. Particularly if nothing's leaking. But keeping a dry VOD with properly tightened hoses is a great place to start.

[Josh]

if you cant see oil, its not leaking

Also do not coat your VOD with Por-15. It will flake and peel and make more of a mess than you started with.

[mr_maxime]

if you cant see oil, its not leaking

Also do not coat your VOD with Por-15. It will flake and peel and make more of a mess than you started with.

I kept looking of other pictures and didnt see many so I assumed the worst, but it seems like this one isnt as bad as I thought.

I did read quite a bit about POR-15 and I decided against it. I've just been cleaning the hell out of the aluminum with some brass brushes though.

[David T]

It's really hard to get it clean enough for anything to stick. 1st choice is to just leave it bare. If you feel you must cover it with something use Glyptal, You can get it at an electric motor repair shop or you can buy it from Eastwood.