Author Topic: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?  (Read 1791 times)

Offline fjm

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Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« on: December 12, 2017, 05:50:24 PM »
After my teardown of my late 65 289 engine block and cleaning after 40+ yrs of sitting in my garage, I soaked the inside of the block to dissolve old rust.  When I flushed the block and rotated upside down to drain an almost a marble sized chunk of material came out of each side.  Thought they might be iron slag left in during casting, but they are not magnetic.  Did Ford put a chunk of magnesium or the like in each side as an anode to help prevent corrosion?  Never heard of this before and don't know.  Any ideas?  You help appreciated.

Offline CharlesTurner

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2017, 09:13:31 PM »
Never heard of it
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Offline J_Speegle

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2017, 09:43:16 PM »
Never seen or heard of anyone finding such nor anything I know of in TSB articles or other Ford documents
« Last Edit: July 02, 2020, 06:00:55 PM by J_Speegle »
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Offline KevinK

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2017, 01:19:56 PM »
Sacrificial anodes are usually zinc and attached for servicing. Finding 1 could be from a previous owner’s experiment. Finding 2 and one on each side sounds well planned.

I suggest cracking them open to see what it’s made of. Zinc is soft and shines at clean metal surface.  It could possibly just be a collection of crud.
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Offline fjm

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2017, 03:32:37 PM »
I have 2 pieces and each piece looks like the other but one is a bit smaller.  The larger piece is roundish and a bit smaller than a dime.  I just filed a piece and found it to be relatively soft, very shiny, and metallic.  They do have a bit of weight to them for their size.  Since neither is magnetic, my vote is that they are zinc anodes put into each side of the block.  Now-a-days you can get anodes for/with a radiator cap, so maybe Iaccoca and his boys thought of it back then.

Anyway, just thought that if I was to post this anywhere this would be the site.  I would post a picture if I knew how.

So all the stangs out there without a block anode piece might not be Concours after all.   Kidding of course.   ;)

Offline carlite65

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2017, 03:55:51 PM »
posting a pic is easy. hit 'reply'. below the box is 'attachments and other options'. click that & follow the directions.
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Offline jwc66k

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2017, 04:35:56 PM »
Anyway, just thought that if I was to post this anywhere this would be the site.  I would post a picture if I knew how.
posting a pic is easy. hit 'reply'. below the box is 'attachments and other options'. click that & follow the directions.
Remember, the picture must come from your own files. When you attach it, the picture becomes part of the forum. You can do more than one. I recommend .jpg format pictures, with a size of 6 x 8 inches and 100dpi.
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Offline midlife

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2017, 06:08:08 PM »
Pieces of Jimmy Hoffa?
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Offline jwc66k

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2017, 07:15:18 PM »
Hoffa's in the end zone of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, rows 8 thru 12.
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Offline fjm

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2017, 07:47:29 PM »
Hoping this picture posts OK.

Offline carlite65

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2017, 08:19:48 PM »
pics are ok but i have never seen those before either.
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Offline midlife

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2017, 09:25:05 PM »
Remnants of freeze plugs that were inadvertently pushed in and couldn't be extracted?
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Offline fjm

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Re: Late 65 289 engine block anodes?
« Reply #12 on: December 15, 2017, 03:39:13 PM »
I'll leave you with the picture(s) and what I know for sure....

They came from an original factory intact 289 engine with 89K miles on it.  A convertible.  A May 1965 Dearborn build.
The pieces have a bit of weight for their size.  I filed down one edge (not shown) to find it to be a very shiny metallic, non-magnetic material, like zinc.
My vote is that they are zinc pieces put in each block half to settle at the bottom of the block as a "getter", to help prevent rust, corrosion, etc......like the anode in a home hot water tank.

That's all I got.  Thanks for your input.

I'll post again if I find out more.  You too?