I bought a truck around winter, and didn't think to replace the coolant(radiator was full of orange water, so it appeared to be coolant). It turned out the water had rust in it from the radiator, so it froze and the freeze plug malfunctioned, causing the block to crack. It only cracked the water jacket, no water in oil, no smoking at all. Can it just be welded, or should I get a new engine?
I'm tired of the truck just sitting by the barn, wanna see it on the road again soon, but can't afford a new engine.

 

Greetings Buck, welcome to the Forum.

Try to weld it, what ya got to loose ?
Remember, a welder needs to clearly see what he's working on. You might have to pull a Wheel and Fender Well to get access for him. That'd be a small price to give for a good job !

Then...
Figure out why those Freeze Plugs didn't pop. RnR with proper sealant on um.
Do a good flush on it, to get that rust out of the system.

Back in business !

 

Sorry to hear that. To clear up a common misconception and often misused term, the plugs in the block are NOT "freeze plugs" designed to pop in case the block freezes. If one does and saves you, you're lucky. The block has holes in it so the casting sand can be poured out, then the holes are corked up using "core plugs".