OK, I'm not trying to single anyone out, here, but this is the same kind of silly nonsense that goes on from thread to thread. And it seems nobody ever wants to listen. The tallest building in town is only 10 stories, but this kind of stuff makes me want to go fling myself off the top.
Are you rebuilding this engine, or are you just throwing a set of rings and bearings in it? Huh? Are you aware there is even a difference? Hello???
How much are they going to charge you to check main saddle alignment, and align hone the block, if necessary? Because if the mains are not true, how are you ever going to end up with square decks and perpendicular, parallel cylinder bores?
If they are going to bore it for a buck-forty, what are they going to charge you to finish hone it?
What are they going to charge you to knock cam bearings back into the block? They
are going to remove them prior to cleaning the block, aye?
When a block arrives at a machine shop, step number one should be to knock the cam bearings and freeze plugs out of it. Then all the threaded plugs need to come out.
The block then needs to be cleaned, by whatever method (dipping, jet-spraying, baking/tumbling, etc.)
Once the block is clean, the decks and mains should be checked for cracks. The bores then need to be inspected for cracks. If the bloody thing is cracked, why would you ever want to invest more money into it?
The block then needs to be checked for main saddle alignment, and for main bore sizing. If you are going to properly deck and bore a block, you are always locating off the mains, so if they are not right, then nothing will be right. It would be like trying to build a house on foundation that is not flat.
The block should then be decked, and again (and again, and again, and again, and again), a good shop will deck the block so the decks are square to the mains.
The block should then be bored (are you listening) in a fixture that will locate off the mains.
The block should then be honed, and I'm not talking about using a dingleberry on it.
Then the cam bearings and freeze plugs need to be replaced.
Average prices in this area, would have you spending around $400 for the above services, plus another $150, if the block needs to be align honed.
At that point, you have not touched the crank, you have not touched the rods, you have not touched the cylinder heads, etc. If you are using new parts, you still have rod bores to verify for sizing and concentricity, you have piston pins to verify, piston pin holes to verify, crank journals to verify for size and concentricity, oil clearances to check, ring end gaps to check, deck heights to check, and all you've done is get the short block ready to assemble. You still need to check oil pump clearances, you still need to verify cam timing, you still need to verify crankshaft end play, you still need to verify camshaft end play, you still need to make sure every last part is cleaner than clean, etc.
If you're going to rebuild an engine, it is going to require a lot of checking, a lot of machine work, a lot more checking, and a lot of money. Of course, if you are going to take the block to a quarter car wash, hose it off, and throw in a new set of aluminum-backed bearings, run a dingleberry through it, and use some .010 oversized rings, then you are going to get off pretty cheap, But that is not rebuilding the engine, now is it?
Rebuilding an engine is about making triple-sure that
everything is right. It has naught to do with price tags. If you are trying to build an engine via the numbers on the price tags, you are doing it wrong. Make everything right and it will cost what it costs. If you have to worry about what it costs, hear me very carefully -
you cannot afford to do it, because you are not going to do it right. You are going to cut corners, in order to save 62¢. And if you are trying to pinch pennies, the dollars will slip right through your hands, because you will end up having to do the job a second time. And trust me, I've heard all of the excuses in the book for doing it a second time, and it is never the fault of the guy in the mirror, the guy who was pinching pennies, it is always everyone else's fault.
If you're going to do it, do it right. If you're not going to do it right, then you are involved in the wrong hobby. Maybe that is going to give some people a boo-boo lip, but the truth does hurt, almost every time.
Believe me, if there is one forum that I could delete in a New York minute, and never think about it again, it would be this Engines forum. I am sick to death of all the baby chick sounds coming from this one. Cheap, cheap, cheap.
If you want advice on how to do something, then expect to receive advice on how to do it the right way. If you are giving someone advice, be damn sure you are giving them advice on how to do things the right way. Because I am here to tell you, some of this stuff (<--- yes, I was trying to be nice) is beyond belief, and we're going to be reining a lot of it in. Fully expect to find a lot more locked threads in this forum. Fact.
Yes, that is my patience, worn and stretched to the breaking point.
