Author Topic: Oh...my STARS! (a metal casting tale)  (Read 2647 times)

Offline oldnslo

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Oh...my STARS! (a metal casting tale)
« on: December 31, 2019, 08:22:00 AM »
After pulling out the water outlet I had squirreled away for the Ford 660 tractor (still needing some re-assembly) and discovering I had purchased a replacement (used) water outlet, I marveled at the condition this was in compared to my original one. The tractor is a 1956, and this used water outlook looked darn near new except for the mud dauber nest in round portion of the stat housing. A quick jab of a screwdriver did away with the mud nest, but I saw something deeper in the cavity.

I recall years ago, finding these "stars" from time to time in cooling systems when I replaced freeze plugs, and system flushes while working in a Shell station. They are remnants from the casting process, used to dislodge casting sand and internal roughness. It turned out 2 of these were stuck together and would have restricted coolant flow in the neck of that water outlet by about 60-70%. I bet the former tractor owner could not understand why that tractor ran hot (and could have had an early demise) because of the limited flow.

Pics to prove it. They are deep inside, and the red circle will help ID them for you.

Offline DeadNutz

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Re: Oh...my STARS! (a metal casting tale)
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2019, 11:45:22 AM »
Good catch there OnS. I will look closer at castings now.