Crumbling/Spalling concrete block

[Galaxywide]

I'm not sure this is the right place, since technically this isn't flooring, but it is garage and concrete so figured it would be relevant.

My garage is built slightly below grade, and the bottom 30" or so of the walls are stacked blocks, with standard stud walls above. I appear to have a moisture problem or problems, since during freeze/thaw cycles I get substantial water coming through or under the walls and into the garage (ice buildup this winter reached 2" in the corner! I'll have heat this winter, but still). I suspect this is causing at least some of the damage to the blocks, but I'm not sure how to prevent it without doing a lot of digging and breaking up a large patio slab that (unfortunately) slopes down to this wall at one corner (the corner that the most water generally comes in). The blocks near the main door (you can just see the photoeye in picture #3) are particularly bad, and I'm worried about their strength supporting the wall above if the crumbling continues.

The garage does have gutters, routed well away from the building.

I'm looking for a way to repair these blocks, and thereafter seal or protect them in some way as well as to seal the walls against further leakage into the garage. I went to the local big-box store, and while there are a variety of concrete patch, repair and seal products I'm not sure which to use....they all seem to have overlapping uses at many different price points.

I don't know much about concrete, so any suggestions are welcome!

 

[strutaeng]

Yes, definitely a water infiltration problem. The solution is the seal the OUTSIDE though. Anything on the inside is more or less a bandaid, unfortunately. That water will cause rebar corrosion and freeze thaw will cause concrete spalling. Both are structural concerns.

What does the outside look like?

 

[Galaxywide]

I figured that, and I'll probably have to deal with it at some point...but at the moment I have access to the inside walls since everything is out of the garage for insulation and remodeling, so I want to at least patch/band-aid/improve things however I can right now. Outside stuff will have to wait until at least the fall when the various garden beds that border the garage are no longer in use, and after I get everything back into it (wife is not stoked about everything jammed into a carport in the driveway, and I assume my neighbors aren't either).

The outside looks fine, the parts I can see anyways. Only about 1/2 of a block is above grade, and appears to be natural/unsealed - no evidence of tar or other sealer that I can see. The rest is below grade and I haven't dug it up, but I do recall that when I put my shed next to the garage (other side from these pictures, the blocks there look fine) I noticed the outside was coated with something black starting just below the dirt line.

 

[tncatadjuster]

RapidSet mortar mix, comes in bags or box, buy the box as its easier to keep for a long time without sack setting. It‘s a great product for any repair. Wire bush the area, pre wet the block. Mix it to be like peanut butter and once placed mist it with water as needed to keep it from drying out. I would suggest making a test patch on workbench to learn the technique. I’ve used many different brands, this was the best.