? about Darton block w/ pic
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TECH Junkie
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From: Republic of Texas
? about Darton block w/ pic Finally got some of the parts today. I am curious about the block. If you can see in the pic (as big as I could get it on this site), there is a small open space between the block and the sleeve on the top right hand side. I know where the sleeves join there will be a space above and below, but should the block be in contact with the rest of the sleeve? Three of the cylinders look good, but the rest have this small gap that I'm not sure of. Most gaps are on the top right and/or left hand side. One has a gap on the bottom left. It is obvious that the cylinders were not bored out perfectly round. Close but not quite. Don't know if it's a problem or not (don't think so), figured I'd ask people with knowledge.
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TECH Junkie
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From: Republic of Texas
Originally Posted by dand35th
theres a pic on cartek's site, looks the same I think?? check it out
Bravo I found the source of my problem. The gaskets were leaking not the block. I spoke with Steve and he said to make sure that the block was decked before the heads were installed, I have no idea if Joe decked my block or yours. I would check that out B4 you do what I am doing. Good Luck
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TECH Junkie
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From: Republic of Texas
Bear, glad to hear it is just your gaskets. The following message came with the block:
This block has been:
1. Deck milled
2. Align honed mains
3. New cam bearings
4. Darton 4.125 sleeves installed
5. finish honed
Guess that covers everything? One thing I am kinda bummed about is that it is a '97 block. There are still two tiny peices of the water pump gasket still stuck on. That means I have to use the damn gaskets that need sealent instead of the newer ones? Nobodys fault, but that kinda sucks. But at this point I should not complain lol.
This block has been:
1. Deck milled
2. Align honed mains
3. New cam bearings
4. Darton 4.125 sleeves installed
5. finish honed
Guess that covers everything? One thing I am kinda bummed about is that it is a '97 block. There are still two tiny peices of the water pump gasket still stuck on. That means I have to use the damn gaskets that need sealent instead of the newer ones? Nobodys fault, but that kinda sucks. But at this point I should not complain lol.
Last edited by 11 Bravo; May 17, 2004 at 07:35 PM.
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Originally Posted by CANNIBAL
Bear, if the block was done by Steve @ RaceEngineering then it was decked after the sleeves were installed. He does this to all his blocks that he completes.
10.s Last edited by Bear; May 17, 2004 at 10:51 PM.
Gap around sleeve flange What you see there "gap" is normal on the MID installation. We downsized the flange diameter to 5.140" from 5.180" early on in the design process. At 5.180" the block was machined large enough to eliminate the gap. This worked fine on the LS1 blocks but we had problems with the LS6 blocks. The LS6 deck is slightly narrower than the LS1 deck and boring to 5.180" for the flange left the gasket seating area too thin on the pushrod side. We had a couple of leakers. Downsizing the flange diameter cured the leak problem.
Felt I should point out that the sleeves in your block are not the latest design. Current sleeves (last six months) have alignment holes along the flats to help orient the sleeves when they are installed. I made a fixture to plunge mill alignment holes in these early sleeves and even the newer ones if I find they are off. The sleeves are installed in the block in the exact same order as in the fixture.
It is very important to get the sleeves aligned properly. If the sleeves push against one another at the flats they will be out of round. I attached a photo showing the newer style sleeves. You can see the alignment holes along the flats.
The fixture has come in pretty handy. With it I can generally keep the sleeves within .001" - .002" indicator runout after installation and that's as round or rounder than the sleeves were before installation. This makes life a lot easier for whoever is doing the honing.
Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development
Felt I should point out that the sleeves in your block are not the latest design. Current sleeves (last six months) have alignment holes along the flats to help orient the sleeves when they are installed. I made a fixture to plunge mill alignment holes in these early sleeves and even the newer ones if I find they are off. The sleeves are installed in the block in the exact same order as in the fixture.
It is very important to get the sleeves aligned properly. If the sleeves push against one another at the flats they will be out of round. I attached a photo showing the newer style sleeves. You can see the alignment holes along the flats.
The fixture has come in pretty handy. With it I can generally keep the sleeves within .001" - .002" indicator runout after installation and that's as round or rounder than the sleeves were before installation. This makes life a lot easier for whoever is doing the honing.
Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development
Last edited by Steve - Race Eng; May 18, 2004 at 03:03 AM. Reason: Follow up