Guys,

I got a free 440. Here is why it is free:

The guy tried to hammer out the freeze plug near No. 7 by hitting it on the side and getting it to turn. That didn't work, so he tried to drill through it and...
...drilled right through the No. 7 cylinder bore.

The motor is 30-over. All the bearings look good, the crank looked good, it looks like a decent motor. Can that cylinder be sleeved if the motor can stay at 30-over? What if it needs to go to 40-over, can that be sleeved? Any other options to save the motor?

Thanks!

Greg

Should be able to fix an d sleeves come on all sizes $125 is to fix.

First, the guy shouldn't be allowed around tools and yes it can be fixed. .030 is ok . they can bore it back to .030. I just had a sleeve put in a 428 Pontiac 125.00 is the going rate.

Usually most general automotive machine shops distort the cylinder next to the one they sleeve Two things on sleeving any motor, use ductile iron lseeves only, there better material than the block and find a shop that can install the sleeve witout distorting the cylinder walls next to it Make sure and ask them how they install the sleeves and post that reply on here, we will verify if they know what thier doing or just trying to B.S. their way into the job

Thanks guys.

So would the safest bet be to have the sleeve put in and have all the cylinders taken to 40-over, even if the other 7 really could stay at 30-over?

That should take care of any distortion from having the sleeve installed, correct?

I will check on their procedure and post before I have any work done.

The good Hi Po shops put the ductile iron sleeves in dry ice for a period of time befoe installing(pressing) the sleeves into the cylinders, they also very carefully bore that cylinder out so there is less than .0015 interference fit, they also preheat that cylinder up with a Oxy acetelene(SP?) rosebud tip for several mintues before dropping or sliding the cold sleeve into the block. Let ii sit overnight and then hone all the cylinders, the machinest will, or should know, right away if the other cylinders are distorted or not Go from there

When I lost a cylinder to a random inclusion in the casting finally letting go and creating a .030" pinhole into the #3 cylinder, I had it sonic-checked, sleeved to the +.040 over the other 7 were, touched with a hone on the other 7 to verify still round and give a fresh bite to the new rings ( I re-ringed it while I was in there), decked and line-bored/honed I was out $1100. This block went through the whole gamut to verify everything was going to be right.

For what it could end up costing, you are better off just getting another block.

How far down the cylinder is the hole? Is it down far enough to be past where the rings travel? If so that part of the cylinder doesnt have much pressure on it. I wonder how long a BS fix like some JB Weld in the hole would work? I bet it would work for a while. Or thread the hole and screw in a set screw. Then put some block sealer in it.

As HemiRick stated, if the hole is below the ring travel and not through any water jacket just chamfer the hole and leave it there. Be SURE it is below where all the rings travel.

How big is the hole? If it isn't too large, something like this may work. Look in the crack detection part that covers tapered plug repairs.

http://www.irontite.com/manuals/index.php

You can use the set screw solution even above the ringtravel, if you grind it down not protruding into the cylinder, and round the edges against the cylinder, like porting a 2-stroke engine. And, the 2 stroke holes are massive,and the rings slam into them, but are guided back with this chamfering/fillets around the ports. No problem there.

Just be sure to seal the threads properly when installing the set screw. Maybe best is to drill out and use 1/8" pipe thread plug, because it has a fine thread pattern. Depends on the bore size used by the cave man. My

Thanks for all the replies guys.

It's about a 1/4 hole, and I am pretty sure it's through a water jacket, it's directly behind the freeze plug.

I can more afford the money to fix it properly with a sleeve than I can afford the time to either hunt down another block or try to rig up some kind of fix that I find out doesn't work. I will try to let you know how it turns out.

Greg

find another block...

Sounds to me like you can sleeve it with no problem. I'd suggest NOT going to 40 over.
Do a torque plate hone on the odd-numbered bank. I would not worry about another half a thousandth of piston clearance. If the torque plate hone shows distortion in the #1 cylinder, then do the other bank as well.
Choose your ring package before honing so the surface finish is right for the rings.

R.

freeze plug is pretty low in the block , plug it and jb weld

I remember a mineapolis moline G1000 my Dad worked on and they dis the same thing and Dad just threaded the hole with a tapered pipe plug from NAPA, and pulled the pan and used a long die grinder to take the bump off the plug. That was when I was 14ish, and I know the guy who owns that ol girl and its STILL running fine.

The only difference here is the previous guy used a center punch and accually punched the hole not drill, so Dad had to go a few sizes bigger to get a clean hole with no cracked up material in it.

I dont see how this would be any different.

Unless ofcourse your planning on racing it and stress the crap out of the block.