Good Block/bad Block?

[skinner2k3 3]

Hi

 

What should I be looking for in a “good XU block”?

 

I am building up an engine and have a couple of blocks available.

 

The most convenient one would be the one which is currently bare, cleaned and bolted to my engine stand!

 

It has no obvious corrosion, was from a good running 1600 which never let me down and the wet liners from it are not stepped.

 

The shoulder the wet liners sit on are in good condition as are the bearing journals but I don’t really know where else to check.

 

This will be my first build so any advice would be appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[dcc 855]

check the water pump housing, as some blocks can suffer from the headbolt being tightened into this housing due to missing the double spacer, can be repaired though. Some people do tend to upgrade the liners to mi16 ones, as they feel the ribbed liners give extra strength to hard revving engines. they are infact ribbed to help disperse heat faster. I am 99% sure the block height is the same so the liners should fit.

 

The liner seals could prove to be an issue for you due to the seats corroding in older engines or even engines with no/little anti freeze. Check out Tom Fentons build to see what the best method of seating them is.

 

There is alot more information on the board which a quick search will display for you!

[taylorspug 7]

If the block you have looks good and was running well, go with what you know, it certainly sounds fine from what you are saying. Liner seals, head mating surface, water pump housing are all worth checking.

[skinner2k3 3]

Cheers guys.

 

Head mating surface is good, no corrosion or scrapes there, will check it for flatness.

 

Water pump housing is a good shout, havent looked there much yet. I know the missing spacer problem hasnt happened though.

 

I will have a read through Tom's build as I must confess to not having searched, but I do read most posts and didnt recall much to do with checking blocks.

[Matt Holley 11]

I can't really say anymore than others have said on the blocks but are you doing the track day on the 28th?

 

And Happy birthday

Edited November 12, 2009 by matt holley

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Head bolt thread's, Known for being a major issue on these engine's, Check with a bolt and make sure they are clean and don't wobble in the threads

[skinner2k3 3]

Matt, yeah I am doing the 28th, sent the cheque off yesterday. And Cheers.

 

Head bolt thread, ok will check. Thanks Miles. Actually Miles can you PM me a quote for Mains and Big ends please?

[petert 588]

Get the liner seal areas grit blasted and then check for tooth decay, especially around the back of #1 cyl., where coolant flow is the worst. Threads can be heli-coiled. The deck can be skimmed. So I don't really rate those two as a major issue.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Around no 1 cyl in my block was full of silt! Luckily the liner seats were OK and the engine has now covered 4k miles since rebuild with no problems, thats including 1.2 bar boost pressure too!

[skinner2k3 3]

Even when I first took the engine apart there was very little silt or residue of any kind in the water jacket and have since carefully cleaned up the seating area and they look good.

 

We do have a grit blasting cabinet at work which I have used for other parts but I havent had the bottle to aim it at the block!

 

To be honest I have been tempted to try and mask up the block and blast it as a quick alternative to srubbing it clean by hand. The grit we use is a medium grade I think as we use it to blast castings, some of which are aluminium. Its just being confident I have got it all back out afterwards!

[paulsupervts84 0]

i would go with what you know bud if its a good engine use it