Block Prep Like A PRO | Engine Building Basics 03/04

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Did you skip these simple engine block preparation steps on your last performance engine build?
Once we have our engine block back from our engine machinist, there are a number of simple tasks we can do to help ensure our assembly process goes smoothly and adds a higher chance of relability.
These steps include ensuring all threaded holes are free of dirt and debris ensuring we are not dealing with snapped bolts and studs before we even have things off the engine stand, cleaning up sharp edges and OEM casting flash. It's also worth improving the factory oil supply where possible remembering fluids and air are lazy, so you want to give them the easiest and most direct path for better efficiency.
Checking for shipping damage and making sure you paint your cast iron block are of course on the list here, and one thing we didn't discuss but is also strongly recommended is measuring everything to ensure your engine builder got it right. They want you to do this too as if for any reason there is a problem, it's easier and cheaper to address right now, and if there are no issues, you can carry on with confidence in knowing that.
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TIME STAMPS:
0:00 - Overlooked Yet Not Difficult
0:39 - What Is Block Preparation?
1:17 - Shipping Marks And Dents
1:41 - Threaded Hole Cleaning
2:33 - Using Taps
3:00 - Deburring Casting Flash
4:17 - Cleaning, NOT Polishing
4:32 - Oil Supply
4:52 - Machined Edge Cleaning
5:48 - Clean Debris
6:10 - Painting Cast Iron
6:25 Next Lesson & Myths
6:48 - BUILD.TUNE.DRIVE
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TAGS:
#highperformanceacademy #blockprep #engineblock #castingflash #deburring #buildtunedrive #learndriveoptimise #motorsport #build #enginemachining #engineswap #auto #carmods #automotive #motorsports #racing #dragracing #endurance #circuitracing #roadracing #boost

[@derekhartley4480]

A trick to remember to help with control of your die grinder is to always go in the direction the bit is spinning. Machinists typically call this climb milling, we aren't really milling here but the principal stands. Move in the direction the bit is trying to take you rather than fighting to go the other way. You are more likely to gouge the block fighting it.

[@hpa101]

Great tip!

[@saxplayingcompnerd]

Lol. Climb milling is how you risk a crash or stalling manual mills. Your meat noodle arms are not going to be able to maintain control while climb milling if a 1 ton bridgeport cant do it very well.

[@travisfabel8040]

​@@saxplayingcompnerd however with the CNC mill, climb milling is preferred because it tries to push the cutting edge away from the surface, leaving you additional material if you have to go back and clean up compared to conventional mailing where it will bite in and potentially take away more material than intended. Somebody who sees climb milling as the norm, is likely exposed to a lot of CNC milling of metal. People who are used to conventional milling, probably learned with manual mills or they CNC softer materials such as wood and some plastics where you want to carve way the material, and not go the other way due to tearing.

[@derekhartley4480]

@@saxplayingcompnerd Dude, a 1 tone bridgeport has like a 100 horsepower motor and the backlash in the gear train is what causes the "stall". I can stall a die grinder with my fingers. We are talking about two enormously different things here. And like i previously stated we aren't milling anything.

[@derekhartley4480]

@@travisfabel8040 Climb milling is preferred in a CNC because it is driven by ball screws, which do not have backlash, a conventional machine is driven by gears which have backlash. So when you climb mill the backlash can cause the tool you are using to creep forward though the backlash and break, if you conventional mill the tool stays loaded against the backlash and wont try to creep. The issue is that conventional milling leaves a worse surface finish. so most good machinist will leave themselves a few thou to clean up with a climb milling cut to get a better surface finish and with only 5 or 10 thou (.25ish millimeters) if you leave the locks on lightly the machine wont pull though the backlash and you'll get a better finish.

[@GroovesAndLands]

Rather than using a tap to "chase" threads, I like to use a bolt instead. Use a cut-off wheel in the die grinder to cut some lengthwise slits into the bolt threads...essentially creating "flutes". Leaves a nice sharp edge for scraping the gunk out of threaded holes, and the gullets of the "flutes" provides a place for the gunk to go.

[@gordowg1wg145]

It's rare, but sometimes the manufacturer will use a different thread form - got caught out like this many years ago on an Isuzu block. I did, as a normal practise, chase out the bolt holes with the correct diameter and pitch tap - but it actually removed material as instead of the usual ISO 60 degree included angle it was, IIRC, 55 degrees. Fortunately while the bolts were a little loose, it torqued down perfectly well and wasn't an issue - but lesson learned. For older British vehicles, there is a difference between imperial coarse and Whitworth thread forms of the same diameter and pitch, which is something to be aware of.

[@BUZDRIFT]

Why is André so good at this! The Guy teaches with ASMR, it's amazing! So rare to find a teacher that's easy to listen to and want to listen to!

[@justion337]

Grinding the die lines would reduce stress risers too.

[@waynep343]

I used rifle and shot gun ball hones to polish my oil galleys after using long ball end carbide burrs to round internal corners where drilled passages from different directions were drilled. I do all my block grinding before any machine work.

[@vanhasydan4754]

I knew good block prep is important, especially in modified engines, but not all of what is involved.

[@Tunerfreak99]

André, what’s your opinion on painting the inside of blocks. An old engine builder once explained to me he would occasionally do this to help with oil draining back more efficiently. Is there any merit to this technique?

[@adiekaputra3662]

I think the paint will be broken because its constanly in contact with hot oil and if the paint is flake/come off from surface it can blocking the oil gallery or strainer. Sorry for my bad english🙌🏻

[@justion337]

Glyptol is the product you're thinking about. Without perfect prep, there's always the risk that it could come loose and clog the oil pickup or oil passages. The KZbinr Jafromobile has a series building a 4g63 that was a Hyundai casting that had tons of imperfections that he had to smooth out. It was pretty much a "I'm taking the time to do everything as good as possible" build so he glyptol coated the inside of the block.

[@routtookc8064]

what i was instructed to do was smooth out the rough casting surface(s) in the lifter valley, and as mentioned above smooth out the return channels oil is going to follow back to the sump.

[@alertgasper]

none, zero, zip, nada. If it was such a great idea, automakers would do it to avoid warantee claims. what's so annoying is you can easily see paint on rough surfaces isn't smoothing anything out...but engine builders will ignore their own eyesight to stick to an old wives' tale. even better is when you ask, "why don't you paint the crankshaft and the heads as well? don't they need the same benefit?" and you get the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. which reminds you they only know what they've been told, rather than think about what they're doing. Better to grind and polish the oil passages than fill them with drips and runs of paint since you can't reach everything with the perfect distance painter use to put on a coat of paint (and then sand down the orange peel) Then they'll insist, "but you trap all the sand left over from the casting process" wrong bucky! in order for the paint to actually stick and not come off and clog up the oil filter, you have to clean and prep the surface....which means...you are removing all the sand that wasn't already pressure-washed off by the oil pump and sent to the oil filter over the life of the engine block. "but wait!" they'll tell you, "if you're building a spare race engine, you have to paint the inside to avoid rust" so, if you're feeling frisky, you ask them...why aren't you painting the bearings and the connecting rods and the crankshaft (the pistons are made out of aluminum) so they don't rust? Anyone who has ever pulled a completely sealed up engine knows...there's no rust inside. that's because oil and water doesn't mix. and if you store an engine, you want to turn it over from time to time to keep the valve springs from staying in compression mode and weakening. or just overfill the block with oil and put it on a stand and rotate it like a bingo ball cage every few months. this doesn't mean an engine builder can't have some good ideas. but you want to think for yourself--like the folks who blowtorch a block to "wick out the water" before painting. the propane is creating the water you imagine is coming out of the pores.

[@travisfabel8040]

I feel like you spent a large amount of time explaining the deburring but then you just skimmed over the much more important step of making sure the block is completely clean before beginning assembly... I mean you mentioned it with brushes but you didn't even show a brush or cleaning an actual engine block.

[@hpa101]

Building a fast car? Get $400 OFF the VIP package and never pay for another course, EVER: hpcdmy.co/vipy24 50% OFF your first engine building course. Enrol now: hpcdmy.co/offery24 TIME STAMPS: 0:00 - Overlooked Yet Not Difficult 0:39 - What Is Block Preparation? 1:17 - Shipping Marks And Dents 1:41 - Threaded Hole Cleaning 2:33 - Using Taps 3:00 - Deburring Casting Flash 4:17 - Cleaning, NOT Polishing 4:32 - Oil Supply 4:52 - Machined Edge Cleaning 5:48 - Clean Debris 6:10 - Painting Cast Iron 6:25 Next Lesson & Myths 6:48 - BUILD.TUNE.DRIVE

[@michaelblacktree]

I have a similar story. A delivery driver was unloading a gearbox that I bought. He dropped it off the back of the truck, onto my driveway. Completely destroyed it. 😡

[@TML34]

Nooooooooo! Was it at least insured??

[@michaelblacktree]

Yes, but it took awhile to find a replacement. It wasn't a very common gearbox.

[@DochVTAKCD7]

I once lost an Advan SA3R wheel due to FedEx error

[@gordowg1wg145]

Does the seller not even sending something count? Was after some dampers for a vehicle and was e-mailling a UK company and repeatedly stated I was in NZ, and ordered the parts with the delivery address, etc, requesting the total payment amount, which I sent... After not receiving ony further response I asked about the order and they claimed I needed to pay extra for delivery because they didn't know it was to a NZ address when quoting the cost - that took a while to sort out as if they couldn't damn-well read, I wasn't that happy continuing to deal with them.