well i blew some coolant seals and they were deemed to be bad. so i ordered some. and they are on the way. well as i was cleaning my housing i saw this.






well i let you guys decide and advise me. the other one is fine.

 

IT is borderline. It can be made to run reliably for several years, but it could come back to bite you as well. If it were me, I would clean that area very well, and then use some jb stick weld to fill the area by packing it in very well all around the encroached area. Once the stuff cures fully (about a day) then file it down level with the rest of the housing on the mating surface. What it looks like inside the passage is irrelevant. I have done this before with no problem, but many builders would frown upon it.

IF the housing chrome surface is in really good condition then I would repair it. If it is in "barely acceptable" condition then I would just seek a replacement for 1-2 hundred.

 

The area in question is right smack in the middle of the "hot zone". When the coolant seal fails in this area, combustion gases act just like a blow torch, removing material pretty quickly which is clearly evident in the pics. And because there is so much expansion and contraction in this area from thermal cycling, jb weld, IMO, would likely pop right off, leaving little support for the seal and eventual failure. If you're the adventurous type, and don't mind removing the engine again in the near future and purchasing another seal kit, by all means give it a go. I personally wouldn't use it for a customer's car. There are still good used housings to be had at a reasonable price if you ask around. If you should decide to re-use the housing, have someone measure the housing width at the 3 critical areas as outlined in the FSM. It is possible to have shrinkage at that location, and if out of spec, this will expose the seal to a greater amount of hot gases, further reducing it's life span.

 

spend 100.00 tops on a good used housing. that 100 will make you sleep much much better at night

 

get it welded.