[rickyracer]

Engine Block Prep Part II​

Well boys and girls we got it back from the machine shop, actually a few months ago. So now it’s time to make her clean enough to eat off of. In case you’re wondering, this was done prior to installing the cam bearings. You’ll see why as we go along.

It may look clean but it’s not. This is a quick wipe down of the cylinders after they cleaned it. The machine dust is hard to get out with just a quickie cleaning. ATF and a paper towel is the best way or a lint free cloth.

I use gun bore cleaning brushes on some of the smaller oil galleries because they get at it better and rod length isn’t an issue. This is cleaning the cam oil feed holes.

And this is why. This would have been in the cam journals.

Not clean yet

Now it’s clean

Don’t forget the oil cross over and the head drain back holes.

To clean the engine as a whole, after the oil galleys are done, I use hot water from the water heater or you can hook into a tap. Hot as you can stand. Dries quickly that way too.
I use a car cleaner glove to get in there deep with soapy water.

After dried using air and a towel, I recheck the cylinders for cleanness. This is what we’re looking for.

Some people use a brake hone to clean the lifter bores. I do only is there’s surface rust. Otherwise you can open them up to much. I use a 12 gauge brush with ATF on it to oil the lifter bores to avoid rusting. I hand wipe ATF on the cam journals.

Then it’s back to the machinist for cam bearings install.

Easy way to check for oil hole alignment. Avoids fried cam bearings. You never know and it’s your engine.

Then I install the oil galley plugs

and crossover plug.

And don’t forget the rear cam plug. One thing I do is drill the oil plug that is the front one driver’s side of the block with a .040 size drill. This will bleed any air off and also spray oil on the cam/dist gears. Might be overkill but I’ve never lost one. Also helps to cool them.
Makes a mess that isn’t much fun to clean up. Some of this may seem like overkill? But when it comes to a $4000+ engine, a small piece of dirt, metal shaving or grit, can cost you a lot of money and grief.

Now you can put it together.

 

[rickyracer]

No pics????

 

[DeepRoots]

ricky,
you need to upload them to a website, you cannot link them from your hard disk as they do not exist here.

 

[FEandGoingBroke]

Yup, you gotta upload them to your MY pics here on FM or to a host site like photobucket. Flickr is hard to publish from so I don't recommend them just yet...

 

[PSIG]

I see the pics. Nice job. You can never get a block too clean. I hit the bores with a fine, very stiff bristle brush. The suds turn gray.
Good stuff, Rick.

David

 

[FEandGoingBroke]

Good stuff! Pics are visible now! That's exactly how I do my rebuilds

 

[rickyracer]

Thanks FM for the editing. I prefer working with cast iron much more then puters.
Just about the time I figure out how a puter program works, they change it.

 

[rickyracer]

And also when you get those balanced parts back from the machinist, make sure and clean them too.
After all they did, drill and grind on them and the journal in the crank is a good place for something to hide in.

 

[bbrockel]

Great article! Very well organized and documented. For a newbie for me it showed the "ins-and-outs" of rebuilding an engine. I get a lot more with pictures and text. Just the way my brain works. Thanks.