In a pinch, flex tape can theoretically seal an engine block.

Power Driven Diesel, a Diesel performance parts seller and tuner in Cedar City, Utah, is getting a lot of attention, especially from Flex Seal, for patching a 12 Valve Cummins engine with a hole in the block with just Flex Tape.

Check out their Instagram short that went viral and full video below.

As Power Driven Performance explains, one of their highly tuned, 12 Valve Cummins Diesel-powered trucks suffered what would normally be a catastrophic failure on any other car.

For some reason, typically rod failure, their 12-valve Cummins truck blew a hole out the side of the block, rendering two of the 12 valves inoperable.

But, inline 6 cylinders diesels being robust, and even without two valves rendering one cylinder useless, a Cummins like that can still run, but not for long.

For the views and for the heck of it, they decided to find out if their tuned 12-valve Cummins running on just 10 valves can make more power than a stock Dodge Ram SRT-10 (a factory Dodge Truck with an engine from a Dodge Viper.)

But, with a hole in the block, it’s not safe to dyno an engine with oil spewing out the hole.

So, to “patch” it temporarily, they used $15 Flex Seal Tape, like the kind you find in Wal-Mart.

And, as the video shows, their 12-Valve Cummins with a hole in the block, sealed off with flex tape, hit 1,000+ HP and 1,800 lb-ft on the dyno.

The Flex Tape? Didn’t even budge, at all.

“You know how much crankcase pressure you have to have when you have a broke cylinder?” he said after the dyno pull. “There’s like 60 pounds of boost going into there.”

The company behind Flex Tape and Flex Seal was so impressed, they asked if they could use their video for future promotional purposes, which they happily agreed.

“We always love sharing what our fans are using our products for and the awesome projects they created with the Flex Seal Family of Products.”

Flex Seal comment.

For the record, the proper way to repair a hole in an engine block is to patch and weld it properly with a donor metal or using a special repair composite like Belzona 1111.

But, if you’re in the middle of nowhere, need to get home, and have a hole in your engine, flex tape is better than nothing.

“Well, guys, the commercials are true. Flex Seal can fix anything. Even Engine Blocks,” he said, concluding his video.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here