Cracked block? Outside protective coating rusted over, bubbling
So been spending each weekend for the last month getting the S54 head pulled, skimmed, etc for a fresh, new cut/cooper ring gasket replacement. Been replacing alot of things along the way. One area in particular of where I'm at currently was to pull the OEM cat headers to swap with Megan Racing catless SS headers. Was able to do so successfully, as you can see here:
However, upon pulling them, this particular side of the block was exposed, showing some rust where it appears the block mates with the oil pan, and where the coolant seals/plugs are located:
Upon closer inspection, the rust is below the protective coating on the outside of the block, and is deteriorating. I took a flat head screw driver to it lightly and poked, parts of rust are chipping away:
Even closer up on the rust damage:
My assumption is that the damage occurred from one or more of these coolant plugs/seals failing (perhaps along with the coolant drain plug for the block itself), causing coolant to leak all around the block, eventually eating away at the protective coating and/or seeping through some sort of crevice or crack to get underneath the coating (causing bubbling/rust over time).
I'm going to end up pulling the entire block out with a hoist; my question is, do you believe this block is repairable, or will I need to invest in looking into another block replacement? I don't see signs of a cracked blocked currently, but I see signs/symptoms more and more that this is the case. The top end was great, the head was not warped, only .003 of an inch needed to be taken off, after being degreased it looks great! But the bottom end looks horrid.
I've never seen a block deteriorate like this before; I'm just terribly concerned that this deterioration is going to progress eventually to the water jackets, and then the cylinder walls themselves (if not already from the bottom end underneath the oil pan). Have you seen an S54 block like this before, and the outcome of such? My buddy told me after we pull it, we can perhaps sand blast the rusted area to see how bad it looks. I'm just wanting to pull it, strip it down, and send it right into the same shop that skimmed my head, to see if they can recondition this block... praying to god it's only rust damage to the outer protective coating!
2004 BMW e46 ///M3 S54 3.2L I6 NA ~360BHP RTD-6SM | Fully-rebuilt motor (forged lightweight rods & FSR pistons + rebalanced crank) & suspension, Conforti shark injector tune, aFe Stage 2 intake, Megan Racing catless SS headers (ceramic coated) + Status Gruppe sec 1 rasp elim + sec 2 un-resonated X-pipe + DNA motoring muffler (LOUD)
2013 BMW e82 135i ///M-Sport N55 3.0L I6 Twin-scroll Turbo ~380BHP DCT | MHD Stage 2+ tune, aFe Stage 2 intake, free-flow/catless down-pipe + unresonated mid sec + straight piped rear w/ titanium quad burnt tips (LOUD)
2012 VW GTI Mk6 2.0TSI EA888 2.0L I4 Turbo ~250BHP 6SM | Stratified tune, IE intake, hi-flow cat/downpipe, unresonated mid sec, stock gutted muffler (Sporty, civilized)
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