bought an ls3, find out sleeve is cracked
#21
10 Second Club
The LS9 block listed on corvette forum from a well known member has been machined and ready to go just fyi
#22
Edit: Looks like it sold a few days ago anyway.
Last edited by Sdmodified; 01-30-2020 at 03:07 PM.
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G Atsma (02-01-2020)
#25
TECH Senior Member
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Che70velle (02-01-2020)
#27
There is so much misinformation out there on the internets.
I was able to get in touch with Steve at RED who is an awesome guy and extremely helpful. He gave me details on how a darton replacement sleeve is installed and said that one sleeve "CAN" be done on the 6.2 aluminum block, (most of the time)... He was willing to do the repair but I quickly realized that shipping from New Jersey to California and back is very expensive and would actually cost more than the repair itself. However I do want to thank him for his help. If I ever do a full sleeved block, I wouldn't consider going to anyone else!
Currently, I am aware of two sleeve options that I will discuss with machinist:
Darton part number - RS4.0625 1-8
Melling part number - CSL359F
I will update this thread as I move forward in the process with the shop. Fingers crossed that this works!!!
#29
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
what pistons are you going with? I'm in the same boat similar crack in cylinder 4...Im considering just buying a new 6.0 block and having it bored out to 4.065" and just reusing the rotating assembly from the LS3 vs cost of re-sleeving the one cylinder, going to 4.070" and buying 8 new pistons and then having rotating assembly rebalanced as well
#30
what pistons are you going with? I'm in the same boat similar crack in cylinder 4...Im considering just buying a new 6.0 block and having it bored out to 4.065" and just reusing the rotating assembly from the LS3 vs cost of re-sleeving the one cylinder, going to 4.070" and buying 8 new pistons and then having rotating assembly rebalanced as well
#32
For the ls3, the melling and darton are installed differently. With the melling, cylinder is bored to 2 thousandths and the sleeve is press fit in. With the darton sleeve, the cylinder is bored 1 thousandth over, the sleeve goes in loose, loctited in place. The shop I went to will be using the darton. Since they are not pressing in the darton, it seems there is less possibility of distortion to other cylinders. They also say the darton is much stronger. Of course I am no expert and nothing is guaranteed as every block is different. So we will see how this goes....
Last edited by Sdmodified; 02-08-2020 at 03:25 PM.
#33
ModSquad
iTrader: (6)
From what I have learned, it depends on the block and type of sleeve used. LS1 blocks are different than ls3 blocks, etc.
For the ls3, the melling and darton are installed differently. With the melling, cylinder is bored to 2 thousandths and the sleeve is press fit in. With the darton sleeve, the cylinder is bored 1 thousandth over, the sleeve goes in loose, loctited in place. The shop I went to will be using the darton. Since they are not pressing in the darton, it seems there is less possibility of distortion to other cylinders. They also say the darton is much stronger. Of course I am no expert and nothing is guaranteed as every block is different. So we will see how this goes....
For the ls3, the melling and darton are installed differently. With the melling, cylinder is bored to 2 thousandths and the sleeve is press fit in. With the darton sleeve, the cylinder is bored 1 thousandth over, the sleeve goes in loose, loctited in place. The shop I went to will be using the darton. Since they are not pressing in the darton, it seems there is less possibility of distortion to other cylinders. They also say the darton is much stronger. Of course I am no expert and nothing is guaranteed as every block is different. So we will see how this goes....
#34
Trust me, you will have to hone the block after sleeve is fitted. Or if you don’t believe me, call Steve at RED. He’s the absolute best in the business at sleeves. Been doing it 40-50 years, and holds patents on a lot of this stuff. Do not let the shop try to convince you that it’s ok to fit the new sleeve and all is well. I’ve done this before, as I said in first post. Adjacent cylinders will be distorted. Just trying to help you here, that’s all.
#36
have the block at the shop. They are sleeving it this week. Will post pictures once it is complete and give full details. Right now they are planning to use a single darton sleeve and just light hone all cylinders and deck the block. Fingers still crossed... Haha
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Racesloth (02-24-2020)