OK, i took apart a 1986 114k engine that had a single cylinder knock cold and warm but not hot. All bores still have cross hatching and all of my zero overbore rings fit well. I'm gapping the top rings to .022 and the second rings to .018. if this is not right LMK. When i got to number one cylinder after gapping the other rings, which all file fit ok, i found .031 top and second ring gap on #1 cylinder. This cylinder also had high carbon buildup compared to the others, and the engine had a slight skip under light throttle. All my other bores and all pistons are in great shape. My question is: Is it ok to sleeve this block back to standard bore? i don't want to spend the money on new pistons, machine work, new rings (again), and piston pressing. There is a shop here who can do it for $120.
Engine Builders: question about block sleeving...
- Thread starter Brian Mc
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I had the same question about a year ago when I wanted a friend of mine who owns his own shop to sleeve a Turbo block for me. He would not do it. If I remember right, he said he wouldn't do it because of something to do with the amount of material between the cylinders. Also something to do with the way the sleeve is made to stay in the block. But I am not sure. I have known him for years and value his opinion very much. he has always been reliable.
Steve Wood
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Done properly, it should work very well.
I have no problem with sleeves if they're installed properly. Most shops will/should leave a step at the bottom of the bore to locate the sleeve. The 3.8 block is actually a pretty decent one to sleeve as it's not a siamesed bore.
The problem with sleeving one and not doing any machine work is that pressing a sleeve into one cylinder usually distorts the adjacent cylinder. Therefore, it's better to bore and hone after the sleeve.
Having said that, I have a sleeve in the block in my GN that I did without reboring the other cylinders. I did a very light press fit and touched up the hone on all cylinders. That engine's doing fine..but you'll have to decide how many corners you want to cut for yourself.
The problem with sleeving one and not doing any machine work is that pressing a sleeve into one cylinder usually distorts the adjacent cylinder. Therefore, it's better to bore and hone after the sleeve.
Having said that, I have a sleeve in the block in my GN that I did without reboring the other cylinders. I did a very light press fit and touched up the hone on all cylinders. That engine's doing fine..but you'll have to decide how many corners you want to cut for yourself.
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Originally posted by KendallF
I have no problem with sleeves if they're installed properly. Most shops will/should leave a step at the bottom of the bore to locate the sleeve. The 3.8 block is actually a pretty decent one to sleeve as it's not a siamesed bore.
The problem with sleeving one and not doing any machine work is that pressing a sleeve into one cylinder usually distorts the adjacent cylinder. Therefore, it's better to bore and hone after the sleeve.
Having said that, I have a sleeve in the block in my GN that I did without reboring the other cylinders. I did a very light press fit and touched up the hone on all cylinders. That engine's doing fine..but you'll have to decide how many corners you want to cut for yourself.
Hey Kendall,
I am about to sleeve a cylinder in my 455. Any other tips, I am moving to 40 over from 30 to make sure the adjacent cylinders are round. I had to buy pistons any way because of a head change to get the chamber cc right for the compression desired. I have heard about people freezing the sleeve and warming the block and the use of RTV on the sleeve shoulder.
Bob,
Looks like your post got a little garbled. You might want to look into some new sleeves that are "glue in".. i.e., minimal press fit, they're installed with sealant/adhesive. The bottom of the bore is stepped as normal, then these are installed and the sealant/adhesive locks them in place. The advantage of these is they don't move the adjacent bores and the risk of cracking in a siamesed block is minimized.
I don't know much more about 'em than that. I saw a hemi at a race shop recently that had all 8 bores done this way; the shop said they work very well.
I got halfway through writing this and thought I'd take a look on Darton's site to see what they recommended..they do not approve of adhesives as the sole method for sleeve retention. They also have some interesting tech info on flanged sleeves, etc.
Take a look; good info:
http://www.darton-international.com/main_fr.htm
Looks like your post got a little garbled.
You might want to look into some new sleeves that are "glue in".. i.e., minimal press fit, they're installed with sealant/adhesive. The bottom of the bore is stepped as normal, then these are installed and the sealant/adhesive locks them in place. The advantage of these is they don't move the adjacent bores and the risk of cracking in a siamesed block is minimized.I don't know much more about 'em than that. I saw a hemi at a race shop recently that had all 8 bores done this way; the shop said they work very well.
I got halfway through writing this and thought I'd take a look on Darton's site to see what they recommended..they do not approve of adhesives as the sole method for sleeve retention.
They also have some interesting tech info on flanged sleeves, etc.Take a look; good info:
http://www.darton-international.com/main_fr.htm
In response to the first post I kind of got the impression that the block still has the factory cross hatch in it , and never has been honed since . Stop right now! The cyclinders must be honed prior to installing new rings. The cross hatch is there to provide a place for lubrication to stay to keep from scuffing the rings. After a motor has been ran this pattern diminishes as the rings seat (mate to the cyclinder walls) The block should be taken to a machine shop and checked for out of round and taper the square honed ( non brush / expandable hone ) if the block will not pass inspection do not proceed . The use of file fits in a block that has excessive wear will result in ring butting because cyclinder wear more at the top than the bottom. On the sleeve properly installed it should have .0025 to .003 press on it with a shoulder in the bottom of the bore insalled with red locktight. Blocks very on the amount of distortion that occurs so you may or may not have to bore all. DONT SHORTCUT HERE !!! only endup costing you a motor and these parts aint cheap no more. Good luck hope to be of some help
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