GreenEyez93274
Well Known Member
Just curious...... what the price for the worked done?
Sleeve a cylinder
- Thread starter 1964SuperStocker
- Start date
Just curious...... what the price for the worked done?
My guess is he did it himself. No one knows boring process like machinist. Though the final result is pretty exciting!
GasNOil
Well Known Member
Well, mostly that's true! My machinist had this project on his plate for some time. But with the massive amount of "standing around" and "boring" time, he kept putting it off. So, he taught me how to work the boring machine. I did everything except measure and set the cutter. After about 4-5 half-Saturdays, it was done!
GreenEyez - I think his original quote, to do all of the work plus eight sleeves, was around $1,200.
I have another engine, 068 block, with two sleeves in it that I built about ten years ago. Never an issue.
I recently sleeved 1 hole in a 348. It had a cracked cylinder wall. Don't know why. I used a Melling CSL2256 wiich was a 1/8" wall thickness at standard bore. If the engine would have been standard bore I could have used a 3/32" wall sleeve. This one was going to be .040 overbore. I used the 1/8" wall to maintain wall thickness with the overbore. So with the .040 overbore wall thickness was theoretically .105 When this block got to 4.375 to accept the sleeve it was not into the water yet.
As far a what damage can be repaired. I have sleeved cylinders that had major portions gone. Key is that you need preferably 3/4 or 1" of good block at the top and bottom of the cylinder to press fit the sleeve to to prevent water leaks. Would not sleeve all 8 cylinders for an abusive environment, but for a numbers matching, high dollar, trailer/show queen that probably won't ever turn a tire it would probably work. 2 sleeves side by side would probably be ok if not abused too hard.
Will try to post some "sleeving" pics to my website next week.
As far a what damage can be repaired. I have sleeved cylinders that had major portions gone. Key is that you need preferably 3/4 or 1" of good block at the top and bottom of the cylinder to press fit the sleeve to to prevent water leaks. Would not sleeve all 8 cylinders for an abusive environment, but for a numbers matching, high dollar, trailer/show queen that probably won't ever turn a tire it would probably work. 2 sleeves side by side would probably be ok if not abused too hard.
Will try to post some "sleeving" pics to my website next week.
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Sleeving pics. The compression/valve notch is still barely visible, did not quite take all of it. Note small black shadow right next to the sleeve.
The notch was recreated later in the CNC and all were deepened .050 for valve clearance.
Pic 1, just cleaned up the cylinder wall which made the crack really pop.
Pic 2, bored out to 4.375 to accept a 4-1/8 bore x 1/8 wall repair sleeve. This block was standard bore to start with. Note the step/ledge at the
bottom. Leave the step/ledge at the current bore until finish boring. The sleeve will set on the ledge preventing it from moving down. The
head keeps it from moving up. Notice it did not hit water at 4.375 bore!
Pic 3, Sleeve installed with .0025/.003 interference/press fit. When doing the finish bore of the cylinder the step at the bottom will be bored right
with the sleeve and will blend in making an almost invisible repair. In the lower left corner you can barley make out what is left of the
compression/valve notch. If you watch the video of boring this cylinder, right towards the end there is a close up and you can see the notch
that was recreated in the CNC.
This was done on Tooth's project "shop truck"!
The notch was recreated later in the CNC and all were deepened .050 for valve clearance.
Pic 1, just cleaned up the cylinder wall which made the crack really pop.
Pic 2, bored out to 4.375 to accept a 4-1/8 bore x 1/8 wall repair sleeve. This block was standard bore to start with. Note the step/ledge at the
bottom. Leave the step/ledge at the current bore until finish boring. The sleeve will set on the ledge preventing it from moving down. The
head keeps it from moving up. Notice it did not hit water at 4.375 bore!
Pic 3, Sleeve installed with .0025/.003 interference/press fit. When doing the finish bore of the cylinder the step at the bottom will be bored right
with the sleeve and will blend in making an almost invisible repair. In the lower left corner you can barley make out what is left of the
compression/valve notch. If you watch the video of boring this cylinder, right towards the end there is a close up and you can see the notch
that was recreated in the CNC.
This was done on Tooth's project "shop truck"!
stan65
Well Known Member
Yes, great info!
Wonder if the notch could be filled with something like melted brass or aluminum before the block is decked? Looks like there isn’t much to fill. Just thinking out loud.
In my application, I am aiming for 8.5:1. I am ordering pistons, so I will use the advantage of the notch to un-shroud the valves and lower compression while trying to increase the size of the quench area of the pistons.
Wonder if the notch could be filled with something like melted brass or aluminum before the block is decked? Looks like there isn’t much to fill. Just thinking out loud.
In my application, I am aiming for 8.5:1. I am ordering pistons, so I will use the advantage of the notch to un-shroud the valves and lower compression while trying to increase the size of the quench area of the pistons.
Just remember that you'll have to watch your exhaust valve clearence if you fill the notch on a 348 block.You're pretty much limited to .550 WITH the factory notch in place.If you're gonna screw around with factory engineering you'd best know what you're doing.The reason that the 409 block doesn't have as much of this limit [it's usually just over .600 in a car block] is it's .187 inch bigger bore.
The notch in reality needs to be there to "match" the other cylinders volume wise in order to have equal compression in all cylinders. I assume you are asking about filling it to eliminate the void behind the sleeve. When we recreated the notch (and deepened .050) the void was gone. The "new" notch was the same exact size radially as the original only deeper. Watch the video of boring the block. Right at the very end there is a close up and you can see the notch is there once again. This is the cylinder that the sleeve was put in. You can see the shiny ring around the bore at the top, that is the sleeve. It was cut off a few thousandths above the deck to prep for boring. After boring the deck was finished to height.
This is what the sleeve looked like after a rough bore within .002 and decked. He also matched the groove at the top of the cylinder. #3 I zoom in on number three because that is the one with the sleeve. Fantastic job! After being decked you can’t even see the sleeve.
That’s why I brought it to you Jeff 
That’s why I brought it to you Jeff
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I picked that cracked 348 block up a few years back in the KC area. Guy had a 1961 Belair 2 door sedan with a tripower 348 in it. This was the car's original engine, which he damaged and then replaced with another (not sure how the crack came about, he didn't say). He had a bunch of 1961 Chevy stuff and some W stuff, so I hauled it all home for $50. I think there was another block and some heads, etc. All low perf stuff.
Glad that the block has gotten the attention is deserves
. It was just sitting around my basement, waiting for Tooth to come spend some dollars on it .
Glad that the block has gotten the attention is deserves
. It was just sitting around my basement, waiting for Tooth to come spend some dollars on it .
The trick questions are: What wall thickness of sleeves were used and what parent bore were those sleeves intended for. For example. You need a repair sleeve for a 350 Chevy. You order a 4" bore sleeve. It will come with a rough bored id approximately .030/.035 under 4". So when installed it can be finished at 4" bore. If you are repairing a cracked cylinder you could use a 3/32 wall sleeve. The same 3/32 wall sleeve could be used for up to a .030 overbore. If boring to a size larger than +.030 or you have a cylinder with a piece missing (thrown rod, ect) I would suggest a 1/8" wall sleeve. Back to bowtienut's question. If his block has 3/32 wall sleeves now, it could be bored for 1/8" wall sleeves in those 2 holes and get a ledge at the bottom for the sleeve to set on. If they are 1/8" wall now you could order a sleeve for a larger parent bore that will have a larger od. For example, in the Melling sleeve catalog a 4-5/16 bore (409) 1/8" wall sleeve is called out as 4.5655" od. An 1/8" wall sleeve for a 4.320 bore application (440 Chrysler) is speced at 4.573 od. If installed properly with press fit the .0075 difference would create plenty of ledge at the bottom. My 2 cents worth would be to try and fix the bad holes and bore the rest if possible. You did not mention what the bore is now. If under .060 over, bore to next possible size. A sonic test would be a good idea.
Murph
Murph