Aluminum head repair is it worth it

L

lemyp

#1
#1
So my daily driver started to smoke like hell and lost power. Upon opening of the engine crack in the head was found:
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I can get a new head for 425$, but would rather not if it is possible to weld it cheap and good somewhere in upstate SC. Does anyone know/can weld this type of crack and most importantly will it hold, or just forget it, say bad luck and buy a new head. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
P.S. This head has over 300K miles on it.
 
D

DanStew

#2
#2
I think you can get a good used head for much cheaper. 4 cylinders are pretty easy to locate, since most people swap them out. Probably could get a great running motor for the price of the new head.
 
L

lemyp

#5
#5
It's a Volkswagen Golf diesel, so used engine is out of the question, can't get one that is good or at least repairable, bottom seems to be in good shape. After looking around I'm sticking with the idea of that new head for 425$, since nothing else is available. This engines are very hard to get now, since they can run on cooking oil with no modifications to the engine. Just add 10-15% of gas/diesel/solvent to grease of the fast food in summer or 20-25% in winter and be sure to filter it clean and you are good to go. My dad runs his Mersedes 300SDL (1987) for almost 3 years on this mix and only thing we change due to fuel quality is fuel filters, about once every 3 months. Car runs 40+ miles a day, what is the MPG have no idea, we estimate it to be between 25 and 30 MPG. With golf it is even better this small guy can get upto 45-50 MPG on grease which I get for free so all Priuses can go and cry in the corner. Average money spend on gas for me is like 0$ per month in summer and about 10$ per month in winter.:grinpimp:
 
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