1938 Fargo FG3-59

I wonder if molasses will clearout a block?.......people say it gets deep pits clear of rust,so Id give it a go.

I have uised molasses a few times and over time it does remove rust. You do need to like the smell of a brewery horses farts though. It does stink bad after a while. I thoguth once I would add to the equation my b attery charger and run it similar to elctrolysis. Up came the bubbles and that smell. It is cheap to buy from your local produce store so it is worth a go. Maybe a casutic bath first to shift the stubbourn stuff first.

Molasses eats cast iron pretty good so if you do decide to have ho with it just keep a eye on it or the block might end buggered

Paul

JOHN.K. wrote:

I wonder if molasses will clearout a block?.......people say it gets deep pits clear of rust,so Id give it a go.

white vinegar will do it.

Very interesting about cast iron.......pays to check these things before submerging your treasures and going on holidays.......Many years ago I bought a drum of phosphoric acid ,and used that to dissolve rust......but its very expensive now ..........My main problem is I worked for sandblasters for 10 years ,and never bothered doing any of my own stuff.....Serious error.

Dan, which ever block you end up using, after you get the scale cleaned out and all nice and clean, you will find the remains of a water distributing tube running from behind the water pump, to the back of the block. It is used to deliver water to the valve area and without it, you will burn valves. It is only made of pressed metal and roughly the shape of a WW2 bayonet scabbard. They are still available new, so worthwhile replacing it while you are in there.

Good luck with the re-build.

I always have a tub of molasses on the go. Mix it up 10 parts water / 1 parts molasses. Buy the m/s from feed store use very hot water to get it dissolved
then put your bits in for a couple of days. NO BRASS OR ALLOY..!!! . Take them out now and again , wire brush them rinse and return to the brew.
Pretty harmless , cheap, and quite safe. The one i haven't tried but a friend has very good results , is Citric Acid. Quite safe , no smell , but the powder
is not always available. He gets his delivered Aus Post 10 kgs at a time, purchased through E-Bay. I have used electrolysis quite a bit , but used in a
workshop , it can be very dangerous. Very quick though. Gases and power is a bit of a risk. Anyway , that's a little of what i know as to removing rust
at home. Cause the sand/b cabinet is pretty handy as well. Use a paint stirrer in the battery drill to mix molasses.. Dave.

I had a cooling tube maded for the David Brown head when I rebuilt that motor. Many people said it was not needed here in Austgralia, I beg to differ and bought one made from stainless steel. Glad I did.

I managed to get the water jacket cleaned out pretty well I think with wire and some old screwdrivers etc. Will definitely give it an acid flush of some sort before using it.

Also sanded down the bearing insert and put it back in. Step one for this old girl is just to get her running so not going to invest in a full rebuild at this stage.

The water distribution tube doesn't look corroded itself, maybe it has already been replaced. The rod bearings I removed were .030" so looks like it has been rebuilt at some stage. Buggered if it could get the tube out though. Any tips apart from pull harder?

The rust has expanded in the space between the block and tube so there will be a lot of pressure holding it in. Only way to remove it will be destructive by way of collapsing it into itself, so unless it is defective leave it where it is.