Anyone have block cracking issues or advice?

[turbo6randy]

My engine is .040 over girdled and stock crank. Running TSS in 07 hurt my engine. Turned out #3 cylinder was cracked. Put a sleeve in it. Ran only DIY alky since then. Pushed a couple head gaskets on #3 so I decked block and heads. This year preparing to run TAI thought I blew a head gasket but it was the number 1 cylinder cracked. Piston was scored. Injectors checked good. Block was supposedly sonic checked before boring.
Wondering now if my ring-gap was to tight. Or if the sleeve in #3 contributed to my problem. No. 1 cylinder should not lean out.
Thanks
Randy

 

[Chuck Leeper]

"No. 1 cylinder should not lean out."
Not what I've been hearing when using a stock location FPR...

 

[turbo6randy]

Chuck
Good point. I was thinking about air and not fuel. What regulator setup do you recommend? Is the problem with the regulator or that #1 is the farthest from the fuel supply or both?
Thanks
Randy

 

[Kip]

Randy, call me sometime. I am sure I can help you.
See ya, Kip

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Chuck
Good point. I was thinking about air and not fuel. What regulator setup do you recommend? Is the problem with the regulator or that #1 is the farthest from the fuel supply or both?
Thanks
Randy

remember correctly, some folks were looking at the regulator being between the supply flow, and the #1 inj, that there could be a loss of volume.
I think Turbofabricator, and others were involved in the discussion.
Personally, I'd ditch the rail reg, and plumb a remote, by cutting off the schraeder end, welding in a -6AN, and plumbing it that way.
I use the Aeromotive stuff.
Are the cylinders cracking on the thrust side? .040 over, and hi boost seems kinda risky...Just my $.02

 

[KevinB]

.040 over, and hi boost seems kinda risky...Just my $.02

You'd probably flip out if you knew there was an .080 block out there running 150mph w/o sleeves and has at least 100+ passes on it

 

[ttypewe4jim]

You'd probably flip out if you knew there was an .080 block out there running 150mph w/o sleeves and has at least 100+ passes on it

wow just wow...and here I was scared to run 10.80s with a 40 over block on a friends car



Randy about how fast are you running? I was told over about 126-27 mph the stock fuel lines are a scary even with alky.

 

[GNBRETT]

You'd probably flip out if you knew there was an .080 block out there running 150mph w/o sleeves and has at least 100+ passes on it

Not all blocks are created equally...

 

[turbo6randy]

:
Randy about how fast are you running? I was told over about 126-27 mph the stock fuel lines are a scary even with alky.

Typically 128. Has been as high as 131. Hoping for more.:smile:
Chuck
Cracks have been on the firewall side of the cylinder.
Kevin B
I'm assuming that this .080 block has some type of filler in it.

 

[bison]

Chances are you are experiencing some serious detonation if you are cracking cylinder walls and blowing head gaskets. I doubt that the .040 is the big issue. There are TSM guys with more overbore than one would like to think is possible .Id rather have a .060 over engine with zero detonation compared to a .010 over that has been pounded with detonation.

 

[Mike Licht]

Brett is right about the blocks they are not all the same. Some have more core shift that others and can be thin on one side of the bore, .040 is only .005 bigger on each side than .030 not an issue IMO, I have never run a .080 but have run a .060 pretty hard without a failure. Do you have a power plate? I know of a few guys that have had #1 failures when using alky with one. Not sure about wet flow with the plate compared to dry but do know that some folks do not recommend it. I personlly have never tested that theroy just what I was told may be an issue.
Mike

 

[turbo6randy]

Talked to Kip today and he had concerns about how the sleeve was done which made good sense. And I'll be checking my fuel system out to make sure it's sufficient.
Mike
No I don't have a power plate on mine.
Bison
Yes this motor has seen some detonation. Tuning a DIY alky system can be tricky but I try to tune for no knock.
Thanks for everyone's input and help.
Randy

 

[Grumpy]

I was told over about 126-27 mph the stock fuel lines are a scary even with alky.

Melissa's been 138+ with the stock fuel lines.. Friends have been 9.6's @ 141 with em

 

[BEATAV8]

You're story reads a lot like mine. I cracked #3 and had it sleeved. Then dealt with leaky head gaskets in #3. I think it needs to be decked but won't know till I pull it apart again. I got disgusted with it and just put together a fresh motor for the car, but I plan to fix the old one eventually.

Hard to say why it cracked #3 initially. The block suffered some trauma in that cylinder a long time ago at somebody's hands. When I first pulled it apart I found it had a N/A crank swapped in and a bent rod on #3. I put it together with a .020 overbore and a good stock crank and beat the hell out of it for a long time with intermittent leakage issues before I finally found the crack during a teardown. Block sealers can do a decent job of masking bore cracks for some time.

With yours cracking another bore I would venture to say it's probably done. Time for another block.

 

[turbo6randy]

Steve
I am in the process of doing another block. Wish that I would have done that to begin with. Hated to scrap the old block due to having a girdle on it. It was interesting to find that I'm not the only one that this has happened to.
Randy

 

[BobbyBuick]

i cracked #4 horizontally about half way down ,sleeved it,cracked it,sleeved it again,cracked it again, its a paper weight now