i'm having my block sleeve. if i have a aftermarket crankshaft that is balanced already, do i still need the shop to balance it again? is it necessary to blueprint the engine? can i just have the shop sleeve the block and send it back to me to install the pistons, rods, and crankshaft myself and be ready to go? anyone who has done this before, please let me know the process of this. thanks

 

Balancing requires balancing the whole bottom end. So the shop needs everything from your bottom rotating assembly. If you plan on assembling the block you need to send the pistons off with your block so they can set the piston to wall clearance.

Blueprinting is the process of documenting all the clearances from the bottom end assembly.

 

what happens if i don't balance it? they charge be $500 for it and i think $650 with bearings and thrusts. is it worth it? i'm already spending about $3500 for the block and head service + rods, pistons, and crankshaft. plus maybe another $1000 for additional parts/upgrades.

 

It is most definitely worth it, esp if you plan on revving even somewhat high.

 

You don't have a problem spending $3,500 on parts, but you won't spend an extra $500 to have them machined and installed correctly?

It's definitely worth it. I'd provide the flywheel, pressure plate, and crank pulley whlie you're at it so you can have everything balanced along with the crank, pistons, and rods.

 

are you kidding? i got the lightweight flywheel. planning to get stage 3 clutch and harmonic damper. other parts are water pump + belt, euro r IM, valvetrain kit, lsd, head gasket, and new sprocket. that's what i have plan for now.

i don't what the sproket is for. it's the one across the water pump and oil pump. can anyone tell me what's it call and where to get one?

 

my crankshaft is aftermarket and balanced already, but when i asked how much for balance and blueprint, they refered to the crankshaft being balance for $200. are we talking about the same thing?

 

do i send it to the guys that are sleeving my block or can i just have a local shop do the balancing and blueprinting?

 

Who's sleeving your block. All the reputed sleevers can also assemble/balance the bottom end for you.

 

still debating. maybe import builders, autoraceparts, polk performance, or jge. but there's an extra for it. i thought i just do it myself or have a local shop do it. what do you guys think?

 

Balance the engine yourself? Or the assembly?

The nice thing about good engine bulilders is that they'll have the tools necessary to do very accurate measurements, plus they'll usually have a temperature controlled environment in which to do the measurements and assembly work.

 

assembly it myself.

 

Do you have the proper tools to measure the bearing clearances?

 

a micro meter

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ge_itr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">a micro meter</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wow, Corky Bell right here.

 

You'll need a bore gauge too. Something that's accurate to the tens.

 

you can have the machine shop balance and blue print it for you
and then you do final assembly
they will make sure all of the tolorances are corect and label everything for you