Re: nickel welding a block
Short Answer is NO..............<br /><br />If the Crack is Actually in the cylinder wall There's Absolutely No Way it's going to be Welded.........<br /><br />If it's Cracked between the push rods ,+ the Lifter Vally,under the intake manifold ......<br />You Might be able to Weld it,<br />But, It's Possible it'll Still Leak into the pushrod passage,+ Destroy the motor.......<br />And, If the Weld Leaks, It'll Fill the Oil Pan with water,+ Destroy the motor........<br />And, It'll be Impossible to contain All the Grinding Dust,+ Welding Slag...... That'll Rip the Bearings out of your motor in Minutes.......<br />Unless you Totally Dissemble the engine.....And, When you've gotten that far, a New Block makes more Sense......<br /><br />I've also welded several engines,+ manifolds, etc....<br />There's No Way, I'd attempt a repair like yours.....<br />It has Failure written all over it...........
If I am understanding you correctly, you have a crack in a bad spot for repairs. I think your only option here is either a new block with you swapping everything over or a replacement long or short block (replacement engines). Maybe you can post a picture here so we can see the exact spot you are referring to? 
