Cracked Head -- Need replacement

[Marshall Mahoney]

Well this ain't good. On the exhaust outlet. Any suggestions on where to go for a re-manufactured head? Cummins 6bta M2, 300hp, 1990's era. Never ends...

[Marshall Mahoney]

Or maybe it can be welded? No water jacket to worry about.

[Tony Meola]

Marshall

I would check with the local diesel mechanics. They may have an old motor or parts laying sround.

[buzzk]

Try looking in Boats and Harbors. Lot of people sell parts there.

[jackryan]

Hey Marshall,

I moved Decoy to Venice Marina about 2 weeks ago. I've been wade fishing the islands and snapper fishing in Main Pass. Going to run a couple of overnight tuna trips in the next few weeks. I am moored in slip 55 on the pier just east of you. Suzie's Pissed looks great. I went down on Saturday morning to get my boat ready for the storm and noticed that one of your front windows was open. I closed the window to keep the rain out. There are a couple of guys that rode the storm out on their houseboat next to my boat and they texted me this morning and said that they never lost power and there was about 15" of water over the docks. I've been watching both boats on the Venice Marina "Live View" cam and things look fine down there.

Good luck getting the engine fixed up, and let me know if I can do anything to help you out.

JR

[Carl]

Harry did a fix on a motor some time back that he felt worked really well. I am pretty sure the process was called stiching. Its basically a bunch of drill and tapped overlapping inserts that when done can hold pressure. The process is supposed to be as strong or stronger then weld in some cases...but what I liked is no heat, no expansion and contraction that can cause the base material or weld to crack. Then comes not being about to remove all impurities before welding.
I'll do a search and see if I can find...

[Carl]

Ok, that was a quick productive search.

Lock and Stitch - -see if this might work.


http://bertram31.com/newbb/viewtopic.ph ... tch#p97617

[Marshall Mahoney]

Hey Jack -- I checked out your boat when I went to tie mine up for the storm. Looking good. Thanks for the help with the window. That was the day I found the crack in the head so I was pissed/distracted. I'm sure I saw your boat about 2 weeks ago anchored on the NW side of Breton Island and a couple of guys wade fishing. Did you do any good? We finished up a good trip at Curlew island in a bay boat. Venice cam is great! We need to hook up.

[Marshall Mahoney]

Thanks Carl for the heads up on Lock n stitch. May be a good application since no cooing passages to deal with. I will do some more research. Also-- It is a fairly easy area to get to. Brings jerry rigging to a whole new level!

[jackryan]

Hey Marshall,

We had a great night anchored up at Breton Island. Grilled shrimp and chicken for dinner and it was a beautiful night to sleep out there. Believe it or not, it was a little cool and no bugs! My A/C crapped out on me last year, so I have a brand new Domitec 16,000 BTU A/C going in this week. It'll be 68F in the cabin from now on!

The fishing was not good at Breton Island, as the fresh water from the Mississippi was surrounding the island. We ended up picking up about a dozen trout and 3 beautiful redfish. We headed out to main pass and limited out on red snapper the next morning, so we had plenty of fish for the skillet.

We went back out for a day trip to Gosher Island last week and my son caught a beautiful speckled trout. I ended up catching a cobia in the surf and the kids loaded up on spanish mackerel, lady fish, sheepshead and drum. Not too many fish for the ice chest, but the kids had a blast.

I'm sorry to hear about your cracked head. Hopefully the lock and stitch method will do the trick and get you back in business.

I have a friend that will be bringing his 31 to Cypress Cove in the next couple of weeks, and there's also another 31, "Targeted Species," at Cypress cove. Maybe we can all get together one weekend and do some fishing, or at least raise a "clear" in Uncle Vic's honor. I have been having problems sending people private messages on this site, but I'll try to send you my cell# so we can stay in touch.

Cheers,

JR

[Tony Meola]

Ok, that was a quick productive search.

Lock and Stitch - -see if this might work.


http://bertram31.com/newbb/viewtopic.ph ... tch#p97617

Carl

Can you see the topic. When I click on it I get a message that says there is nothing there.

[Carl]

Tony- I do see the post...although my link seems to bring me halfway through the conversation.


Give this a try

http://bertram31.com/newbb/viewtopic.ph ... tch#p97544



If not, do a search - -

"A stitch in time saves nine

Postby Harry Babb » Sat Mar 01, 2014 6:20 pm "

[1962 31]

WHEN I BUILT MY 210 CUMMINS I FOUND NEW TRUCK HEADS ONLINE THE ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS THE BOAT MOTORS USED EXHAUST VALVE ROTATORS AND DIFFERENT SPRINGS I GOT THE SPRINGS AND ROTATORS FROM CUMMINS AND SWAPPED THEM OUT I WANT TO SAY I WAS UNDER 600 FOR EACH HEAD IF YOU WANT ILL DIG UP THE PAPERWORK AND SEE WHERE I GOT THEM FROM

[Marshall Mahoney]

I have been Googling my ass of trying to find the difference between truck heads and marine heads. Rotators and springs -- thanks. No need to look up info at this time -- I will let you know.

[Tony Meola]

Tony- I do see the post...although my link seems to bring me halfway through the conversation.


Give this a try

http://bertram31.com/newbb/viewtopic.ph ... tch#p97544



If not, do a search - -

"A stitch in time saves nine

Postby Harry Babb » Sat Mar 01, 2014 6:20 pm "

Carl

No go, something with my system must be blocking me.

[1962 31]

MCKAY MARINE REPAIR IN OREGON THEY WERE 575 PER HEAD

[Marshall Mahoney]

McKay Marine -- I have already been corresponding with them. Glad it worked out for you -- I gives me a boost of confidence given that I found them on E-bay. I have not asked him for a bare head yet -- the one I looked at comes assembled. No info on the valve type and I doubt it has valve rotators. I may be able to use the the valves off of my engine -- have to do some more research. I appreciate the help.

In the mean time I put a big goop of JB Weld on it to see if it will get me thru the heat of the summer (don't tell anybody).

[Tony Meola]

Marshall

Good luck with the JB weld. We tried that as a temporary fix on an old boat my dad used to have. We were just trying to get it to the marina for the winter and we were going to pull and rebuild the engine anyway. Unfortunately, the weld did not hold up. Maybe you will have better luck.

[Rawleigh]

There is a high heat JB Weld too.

[scot]

As mentioned the heads off 12 valve Cummins are all the same except valves, rotators and springs. Find a truck head, use the CPL off your existing engine to get the necessary pieces from Cummins. Any decent head shop can run down the parts from your CPL and install them.

Good luck.