Working on my long-term project. 1988 Sea Ray Sorrento w 5.7 Merc. Long story short, the block froze and cracked. I bought a new block to replace it, took it to the machine shop. I was anticipating boring cylinders and hot bath and a few other minor things. However, they started telling me about oil train clearances and crankshaft tolerances to the 0.0003 or my oil pressure wouldn't be right, and then talking about custom piston wall honing. I've been working on engines since I was 6 years old, and I've never heard of that. At the ten-thousandth level, you are dealing with very minute details, things that can change with even small changes in ambient temperature. I find it very hard to believe that a main bearing that is 0.0003 out of spec is that big of a deal that it will create a dangerous drop in oil pressure, and it sounded like these guys were going to sell me a bunch of stuff I don't really need. I know they do great work and all, but I have to draw the line somewhere.
Engine blocks are a pretty simple concept. They have no moving parts and except for cylinder walls, they don't wear. Unless subjected to extreme conditions, a block is a block. My question for the group is this: At what point should I draw the line? What is really negligible and what do I really need to do to make this bottom end right? Is boring, cook & cam enough, with a rebuild set, or do I need to get the oil train clearances reset and all this other stuff?
Engine blocks are a pretty simple concept. They have no moving parts and except for cylinder walls, they don't wear. Unless subjected to extreme conditions, a block is a block. My question for the group is this: At what point should I draw the line? What is really negligible and what do I really need to do to make this bottom end right? Is boring, cook & cam enough, with a rebuild set, or do I need to get the oil train clearances reset and all this other stuff?
