What is an acceptable and/or critical gap when checking for engine block warpage?

[mx54life]

Sorry to be such a pain boys but this is my first "on-my-own" engine service. Anyways I know that when checking for warpage there is at least 10 spots that needs attention and the gap should be no more than 0.1 mm. My block is ok except for the cylinder wall between the 2nd and 3rd chamber which is right at 0.1 mm gap. Question, is that spot critical considering it has reach the threshold limit for a gap? Is this something I should be worried about? Here's the spot I'm referring too....Thanks again!


http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a578/ebaradas/IMG_2897_zpsjcg0khpm.jpg (http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/ebaradas/media/IMG_2897_zpsjcg0khpm.jpg.html)

[kung fu jesus]

"the gap should be no more than 0.1 mm."

Should be ok. What happened to cause this repair or is this a refresh?

[mx54life]

I was loosing coolant then eventually after the reroute installation temperature started spiking up so I decided to take her apart.

BTW that is .102 mm feeler gauge.

[kung fu jesus]

Gotcha. Was the head alright or severely warped or damaged? I would clean the deck and remeasure. The old gasket material could throw your measurements off enough.

[mx54life]

Gotcha. Was the head alright or severely warped or damaged? I would clean the deck and remeasure. The old gasket material could throw your measurements off enough.

The seems to have warp in the same area but not that bad. I will clean some more tmrw. But if it is still the same would it be safe to keep the block that way? One spot right at .1 mm gap?

[BoBo]

Have the block and head resurfaced just to make sure it seals properly. Is that a real straight edge? did you measure diagonally? Looks like you have an exciting project, take your time. A 1mm oversize pistons would be sweet.

[mx54life]

Have the block and head resurfaced just to make sure it seals properly. Is that a real straight edge? did you measure diagonally? Looks like you have an exciting project, take your time. A 1mm oversize pistons would be sweet.

Lol no it's a straight rule from HF. I should get a real one you're saying? What will the 1mm oversize piston do? I already have the forge rods.

[kung fu jesus]

The seems to have warp in the same area but not that bad. I will clean some more tmrw. But if it is still the same would it be safe to keep the block that way? One spot right at .1 mm gap?

Tough call. If it is your daily driver, I might say pass, it will be ok. If you have time and money invested, pull it and have it trued.

[mx54life]

Tough call. If it is your daily driver, I might say pass, it will be ok. If you have time and money invested, pull it and have it trued.

Well thanks anyways. I will talk to a machinist tomorrow. I need to change my clutch too so this is a perfect situation. I wish they could just shave the top w/out tearing the block apart as it is really strong running engine only 80K. I just to keep my goals realistic as this is not a high boosted motor so OEM spec should be good enough. I got the reroute too late. I think the poor cooling system killed my gasket. It never really overheated but then again how accurate is our OEM temp gauge in first place?

[BoBo]

Lol no it's a straight rule from HF. I should get a real one you're saying? What will the 1mm oversize piston do? I already have the forge rods.

Bigger bore for a bit more displacement. It's not gonna be a big HP gain per see, but it's better than nothing. Plus, since you said you have a blower, you might gain about 10 more hp out of boring out the pistons. I don't know what your budget is but as long as everything is in spec then you should be fine. There's a lot of useful stuff at HF but when it comes to precision tools, I would go for something more reliable and accurate like Snap-on.

I'm excited for you, if I had the time I would rebuild my own engine. If you don't want to remove the block, just get the head rebuilt and resurface. Thus, it will be easier on the wallet. I think I've seen your car before, were you at one of the Vacaville meets last year?

[kung fu jesus]

Trued/resurfaced, re hone, re ring, re assemble. Measure the bearings, replace. Now I see what you want to do, take a few extra steps to get it right the first time.

[mx54life]

Bigger bore for a bit more displacement. It's not gonna be a big HP gain per see, but it's better than nothing. Plus, since you said you have a blower, you might gain about 10 more hp out of boring out the pistons. I don't know what your budget is but as long as everything is in spec then you should be fine. There's a lot of useful stuff at HF but when it comes to precision tools, I would go for something more reliable and accurate like Snap-on.

I'm excited for you, if I had the time I would rebuild my own engine. If you don't want to remove the block, just get the head rebuilt and resurface. Thus, it will be easier on the wallet. I think I've seen your car before, were you at one of the Vacaville meets last year?

Thanks I will look into that overbore. But I am careful not to disrupt the current harmony of the things, power upgrade that is. My non-adjustable piggyback is able to keep up with the extra air being pumped out and the corresponding power output makes her very lively to drive and reliable to manage other than this hiccup of course. She actually drives way faster than my former S2000 IMO but the S revs way more which I miss thus a new set of rear diff ratio is in the plan. I can easily be please coz "I don't think of another women when I am with one" lol. BTW I have not been to that Vacaville meet yet. I will soon after I sort this thing out.


Trued/resurfaced, re hone, re ring, re assemble. Measure the bearings, replace. Now I see what you want to do, take a few extra steps to get it right the first time.

Yes Sir indeed.

[mx54life]

Now for the final update. One major key to correcting ones mistake is acceptance lol. I suck when it comes to measurement. So heres what I did to insure accuracy.

1. Cut the $10 HF straight rule to 15.5 inches (length of the engine block). Use the shorter piece to do the
vertical side (given your facing the longer side of the engine)
2. Remeasured (3x marking the pass and failed spots every time) the engine block deck vertically and horizontally focusing on the 10 contact spots with 3 feeler gauges....
0.063 mm - 3 spots failed
0.076 mm - 1 spot failed
0.102 mm - all spots pass (manufacturer's margin)

Machinist recommends no resurfacing of the engine block required. Just the head and a spray of cooper coat to insure seal.

So on with the project............

[kung fu jesus]

Excellent. I am commonly humbled by my own mistakes. :).