Well....the block FAILED the pressure test. The cylinder with the slightly slipped sleeve has a leak. Looks like right next to the head bolt like usual.

 

So.... options.

1. Pull all liners, coat each cylinder wall with Loctite 640 and press liners back into place. Cure. Then pin liners in place.
2. Buy guaranteed used block with warranty, and do the same above.
3. Drop a couple G's on getting a top hat block sent to me. Yeah....I really don't wanna.

My theory. If I pull the liners, and coat the entire interior wall with Loctite 640, and press the liner back in place, how likely would that actually fail? It's good up to 400 degrees. It's got a huge PSI rating. It's specifically made to bond cylinder liners in place and seal them.

The cooling system is under little pressure. The liner will be sealed from top to bottom, and pinned in place so it will never move. Sounds pretty....sound.

They do the same thing in diesel trucks everyday.

Thoughts?

 

1 = cheapest but unproven. Most pinned liners on the forum haven't been pinned for long. If you weren't planning on keeping the truck for long, this is the way I'd go, otherwise putting a cracked block back in would not be my first choice.
2 = has it already passed the pressure test? If so, I'd actually make this my first choice AND I'd pin the liners just to prevent future failures.
3 = This is what I did...sort of. Bought the entire long block from GPR. If this is your Daily Driver and you plan on keeping it for forever, it's not a bad idea.

 

"The cylinder with the slightly slipped sleeve has a leak. Looks like right next to the head bolt like usual."
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Not to be a smart ***, but I was about 95% certain that this was to be the case, for I have seen plenty of this happening before on this engine, thanks to what I already expressed earlier on this thread. The crack happens first, from the overheating, and that loosens up the liner, by allowing more bore room for it, so it moves. Same with the head bolt, the crack allows more room in head bolt threaded hole, so it loosens up too. No great surprise. Fact is, I would have been surprised if it had not been cracked.

 

I know. I knew before I bought the car. I knew going into it what it may take to replace the block. I tested so I knew if it was actually the problem or not. Hence why I already have distributors of a new block in line, a machine shop if I wanted flanged liners, and feelers out to anyone that may have a good block laying around. I did that before I even signed the title.

I didn't go into this project thinking a couple hundred bucks and I'd have it back on the road.

My frugal nature is going to exhaust all routes before I drop $2,000 on just a flanged lined block. I'm doing all the work myself except any needed machine work.

 

options.

1. Pull all liners, coat each cylinder wall with Loctite 640 and press liners back into place. Cure. Then pin liners in place.
2. Buy guaranteed used block with warranty, and do the same above.
3. Drop a couple G's on getting a block sent to me. Yeah....I really don't wanna.
My theory. If I pull the liners, and coat the entire interior wall with Loctite 640, and press the liner back in place, how likely would that actually fail? It's good up to 400 degrees. It's got a huge PSI rating. It's specifically made to bond cylinder liners in place and seal them. "
"The liner will be sealed from top to bottom,"
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If you reach the point where you seriously intend to do #1, I would seriously suggest that you first do the following: After you pull the liner that has moved, take block to aluminum block Tig welding firm (firm that specializes in this, and who do it all the time. I had this done once by a firm in Portland, Oregon, who do only this sort of thing; they really know what they are doing); have them TIG weld the crack or cracks. Have that bore weld bead machined, to fit in the liner as tightly as it originally was. The TIG welding on only one crack, one cylinder bore hole, and machined, shouldn't cost all that much; make it all well worth it. With that done, go ahead and finish completing #1; you should be fine. If you don't have this TIG welding done, but you simply do what you mentioned on #1, I think that you will be making a huge mistake, because your beloved loctite would NOT" seal the liner from top to bottom," though it would lock it in place well, unless future heat would be enough to free it up. It is virtually impossible to get the loctite evenly over entire surface enough to seal it from combustion gasses trying to move one way, and from coolant trying to move the other way, up to combustion chamber and down into oil pan. Loctite is intended to lock the liners; not to seal them, as you are proposing. If you do as I suggest, and properly TIG weld the crack; machine it to fit in liner again, this block would be as good; maybe better, than buying another block with warranty. TIG welding and machining it wouldn't cost anywhere nearly as much as you would pay for another "warranted" block. Top hat block would be the best; what I suggest above, would be second best solution. Whatever you do, after you get results of completed work, let us all know how it all went, please.

 

if you have a crack behind the liner like most, you will spend a ton of money try to save that block. (remove the liner, heat the block, tig the block, machine the bore, reinstall the liner, machine the liner and deck the block) it adds up.
I would either go for a bare block with flanged liners, I think its like $80 per liner and the same for machine work, so around 14-$1500, or if you plan on keeping if for a long time spend the money on a GPR motor.

 

Great thread -- looking forward to the next 'episode!'

 

I'm going to get the block hot tanked next week, and see what I can and can't do to this block.

I have some ideas if it's just one crack, but we shall see.

 

"if you have a crack behind the liner like most, you will spend a ton of money try to save that block. (remove the liner, heat the block, tig the block, machine the bore, reinstall the liner, machine the liner and deck the block) it adds up."
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He intends using original liners, so why would he have to machine the liner---it has already been done, so all it needs is to be pressed back in to same position it was originally. Too, block doesn't need to be decked. If he pushes that one slipped liner back where it belongs, top of all liners will line up with top of block; no decking needed. He intended on removing that one liner, at least, and if he were to have it TIG welded, machined to fit original liner that was in it originally, it wold not cost a ton of money; nothing like the $500 for another block, and certainly nothing approaching cost of having flanged liners installed, though the flanged ones would be vastly superior.