its a 2 group hx Sorrento machine (more recent models go under the name of ecm espresso)..found it at a di for $20.

so far as I can tell there are only a few busted pipes, a locked up pump and some filth.

right now im practicing taking apart a pump from a faema due that a friend found at a yard sale and gave to me (kind of a lucky dude hu? haha)
Ive got it soaking in clr, took the front retainer plate off but im sqeemish about just pushing the rotor out from the back. is that how its done?? thought the carbon end plate would just fall right out but its pretty tightly seated. hoping that all that's wrong with either of these pumps is the bearings are rusted. seems that way from the start.
other than that what else should I know about taking apart pumps and e61 groupheads?

That pipe looks like it suffered freeze damage. Before you get too invested in this, make sure to look inside the boiler for damage to the HX tubes.

That makes perfect sense, I was wondering why both lower returns would be cracked the same way.

Yup, you have freeze damage. It may be a door stop. Check the tubing for bulges and ruptures. Check the boiler, the heat exchangers often rupture when it freezes which makes it a wright off. That machine also has a flowmeter in it with little impellers. If they froze it could have broken them.

I've seen worse. A rebuild CAN be done, but the question is, should you rebuild it? There are much more worthy machines for your time and effort. The cash you can get from salvaging the metals in this machine can probably net you a few hundred dollars. That money could go towards another machine!

Going to agree with Sebastian on this one. Check out one of the Linea freeze rebuilds on here.. basically required a new boiler IIRC.. probably not worth your time or money for a machine like this.

That Linea freeze rebuild thread was amazing. I used that thread as a reference almost as much as I used Paul Pratt's site to rebuild my own Linea.

took a look inside last night and don't see cracks but the hx tubes are definitely bulging a bit, hoping its superficial and wont be a future risk of bursting. still have to hook'em up to some water pressure though to check for fine cracks. thought of renting a snake cam hehe..

I've never heard of a bulging HX, but i don't think it could be good. Don't get your hopes too high.

A pressure test on the HX is an excellent idea. I would also test the boiler itself, a bulge in the HX could have cracked a braze on the boiler as well. In all honesty, I'm guessing that you will find quite a few areas with freeze damage spread throughout the machine. Since it isn't exactly a classic, it probably would only be worth fixing for the experience, financially it would be a disaster.