Main bore align honing

[Lizardracing]

400 chevy
2 bolt block, stock caps, ACL bearings
Circle track application

The number one bore shows 2.6481in front of the oil hole and 2.6375 on the other side of the oil hole. I don't know how it got to this point but I guess it needs aligned.
My local shop says,

$50 to bake the block
$35 to wash it
$75 Cut the rear main seal
$200 to do the align hone
14 day lead time
Does that seem about right?

[cpmotors]

400 chevy
2 bolt block, stock caps, ACL bearings
Circle track application

The number one bore shows 2.6481in front of the oil hole and 2.6375 on the other side of the oil hole. I don't know how it got to this point but I guess it needs aligned.
My local shop says,

$50 to bake the block
$35 to wash it
$75 Cut the rear main seal
$200 to do the align hone
14 day lead time
Does that seem about right?

IMO your getting a deal at those prices. I'd be investing in studs for the mains, and have the steam holes plugged with tapered cast iron pins to help prevent cracks and pulled threads. Also have it decked and make sure it is honed with a plate.
As far as using in a circle track setup...run at your own risk

[Dave Koehler]

That is a bit odd.
1: Cap on the right direction?
2: Correct cap for that journal?
3: Does that cap belong with that block?

[kirkwoodken]

Could that cap have "danced" causing fretting erosion and is not seating all the way, kicking the cap up on one side? Are both mating surfaces flat? Is the cap discolored?

[BirdMan]

Cap not fully seated?

[wyrmrider]

Debur and chamfer and dbl check
check twice cut once
.010 is a bunch
get your timing chain worked out and cut for correct timing center to center distance
studs are a good idea as would be some new caps
me- I like line bore with or without line hone
why is this block so dirty it takes a shake and bake or is this a new build?
deck plugs a good idea- has this block be square decked yet?

[DaveMcLain]

Check all of the bores and see if there isn't one that has a similar error in the opposite direction. Just the other day I had a customer bring in a Ford FE block that had a housing that checked about .005 out of round in one direction and it also had another one that had just about the same error but in the other direction! Swapping the caps made both bores check very close.

[Lizardracing]

Dave, Birdman,
Cap is on the right direction. Tang to tang and the markings are consistant on the other caps for direction and placement.The registers are little loose compared to what I feel is normal. IT doesn't seat by hamd but it will seat with a bump of my palm. The others need a tap from my dead blow handle.
I cannot verify the originality of the cap. I was told by the guy I purchased ot from his builder said it was ready to go. I didn't belive him without verification.

KirkWood,
I don't see any signs of fretting but please see the pictures as you guys on here are way better at this than I am.

wyrmrider,
When I got this block it cam with bolts but properly torqued the bores weren't very round. I then installed studs and checked again to get within spec of 2.841-2.8425. All bores are about .0005-001 out of round on the parting lines.
The claim about baking is the honing oil is so expensive he requires everything that comes in the door to be baked and washed to prevent contamination. It is a used block already .030 and bores are within .0005 taper and wear.
I believed to have lived a short life after being squared up due to the nature of the rear galley plugs were messed up and screwed in so far they blocked the passage. I fixed that by making my own oversized plugs on a lathe with a taper attachment.

DaveMclain
With the other bores being 2.841 to 2.8415 and the caps marked correctly I didn't try your idea.

[Lizardracing]

More...The two dots and on the other side are concave vs convexed.

[Dave Koehler]

Well what the heck. IF the parting lines match up well, line bore and hone it or just line bore it.
Cleaning. The shop may change their mind about the pre cleaning after seeing it.
I know I always quote the cleaning part of it because some guys call in and say their block is clean but what they did was hose their used block down at the car wash and think that's good enough. Not.
Either way his rates are too reasonable. That may change after he sees the nature of the tight spot he has to deal with.

[BigBro74]

Dave do u line hone and do other block work? No one in bloomington line hones or line bores- machine shops are getting few and far between... Especially quality ones. I went to champaign a few years ago to get a crank turned and Doug Kennedy was packing his stuff up to move down south...he was one of the last ones around doing that work that I knew of. JH

[robert1]

Normally this happens when the thrust bearing wears out. It allows the crank to move forward and hit the first thing in the way. Yours doesn't look like it in the pic but it could have been cleaned up to where it doesn't show.

[Dave Koehler]

Dave do u line hone and do other block work? No one in bloomington line hones or line bores- machine shops are getting few and far between... Especially quality ones. I went to champaign a few years ago to get a crank turned and Doug Kennedy was packing his stuff up to move down south...he was one of the last ones around doing that work that I knew of. JH

Yeah, it's gotten to be a problem downstate.
Block work. Not anymore. I got out after 20+ yrs when the auto engine world made yet another left turn in the early 90s.
Once in a while I entertain the idea of filling in the gaps but find it hard to justify the ramp up expense and return.
I am doing well with the fuel injection to the world and balancing for those within reach via driving or UPS.
I do tend to still do some specialty work that other shops don't want or don't know how to do.
So reality strikes yet again and I will be maintaining the status quo.

Future possibility. A local farm/diesel orientated biz is contemplating setting up a machine shop. They have the bucks to do it up new and right and have talked about doing other work besides diesel.
It will probably take another year before that comes to be......or not.

[Lizardracing]

I got to messing with this thing last night. I painted the registers with "sharpie brand" dykem and raked a diamond card across the registers and cap surfaces. Nothing unusual showed up there. I deburred the block surfaces and caps and tried it again with a net result of .003 out of round and tapered. It's going to get worked on next week.

[PackardV8]

It appears you've got this sorted, but a question for the experts.

If one has a block with a front main cap as wonky as his appeared at first, I'd just pick another cap, align bore it a thou under, then do a normal line hone. Any problems with that?