New technology for resleeved blocks
I'm not a welder. However, I've worked with many thru the years. That said, I was told by a couple of them-1 certified-that you never lay a bead down over another bead. I'm talking steel here, not aluminum. I'm assuming you're talking about that when you mention a "top pass?" Is it different with aluminum, or is my assumption wrong, or both???
What Steve Is doing is going over the weld in the low spots to make sure there is enough material so that when he surfaces it, that there no imperfections from not having enough filler material.
There are places where you can make a root pass and then come over the top of it with another pass. How ever you must clean the area before the second pass. This goes for steel or aluminum.
Now a reason some one might say not to weld on top of a weld would be that you need to make sure the first weld is good and penetrates properly. Because a weld over a bad weld will not fix the issue. Your also likely to make the weld joint area more brittle.
With thicker materials like steel, It is common to lay a root pass down first and then weld over the top of it to the base material on one side and continue that process until you fill the void. You need to use the correct filler type material for the type of application though...
This common in the Oil industry when they lay pipe and join 2 sections together.
As a welder with 30+ years of experience I've seen welds with many many layers of beads and beads over beads. Literally hundreds of beads layered to the desired profile and consistency to achieve the desired results. Im a boilermaker with years of certified pressure welding under my belt. You'd be simply amazed out how much goes into"code" pressure welding.
I think he is addressing a non issue. Furthermore, welding these blocks is problematic. 319 alloy is high silicon (cheap ****) and is prone to cracking when welded. I used to weld repair cracked bores in LS7 blocks. Now with age the success rate of welding without the block cracking either right after welding or during sleeve install is small. I gave up. The LC9 block properly sleeved with Darton dry liners will hold well over a thousand horsepower. If you want more than that get an aftermarket block. If you want a tall deck block get an aftermarket block which you can get with a raised cam which makes a lot more sense.
__________________
Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development
Oceanside, Ca.
760-630-0450
web: www.raceenginedevelopment.com/
e-mail: race-engine-development@***.net
Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development
Oceanside, Ca.
760-630-0450
web: www.raceenginedevelopment.com/
e-mail: race-engine-development@***.net
I think he is addressing a non issue. Furthermore, welding these blocks is problematic. 319 alloy is high silicon (cheap ****) and is prone to cracking when welded. I used to weld repair cracked bores in LS7 blocks. Now with age the success rate of welding without the block cracking either right after welding or during sleeve install is small. I gave up. The LC9 block properly sleeved with Darton dry liners will hold well over a thousand horsepower. If you want more than that get an aftermarket block. If you want a tall deck block get an aftermarket block which you can get with a raised cam which makes a lot more sense.
In my case, the certified welder told me that welding over another bead was what he was taught in his apprenticeship. I showed him a 3 axle trailer I had put together, and the hitch was welded on 2 I-beams that were bent to make a "V" tongue at the front, where the 2-5/16" ball fit into the piece that was welded onto the I-beams where they came together. As I said, I'm not a welder. So I believed him. Maybe he was pissed off at me for not having him do the welding!!
Last edited by grinder11; Sep 19, 2025 at 02:00 PM.
