i have been thinkin lately of sleeving the block just for a little added insurance. i have seen the sleeves going for about $1000. who has done this and what did your machining cost. i'm going to guess it to be around $400-$500 but curious what some have paid.

 

i talked to my engine builder he said only if u are going to kick out some serious HP... 1k-1.5k is what i've seen for sleeves. machine cost was 2500 bucks. any machine shop can do it.. its just if they can do it right. the parts are cheap.. its the labor that is expensive..but from what u have done to your car it looks like sleeves wouldn't be a bad idea, just more money

 

Would a torque plate be necessary for machining for sleeves? If so, not just any machine shop could do it.

 

torque plates are nothing special... any machine shop can make one in a couple hours. the use of torque plates is something that many pretend is such an exclusive procedure as an advantage point... but its really basic.

 

yep^^^ its been around.. i am sure u would take ur motor to a good machine shop that has worked on these motors before.. i am sure good places will have the proper tools to machine ur motor correctly

 

Hey oZ1 if I may, I'd like to throw my opinion/theory and suggestions in.

My opinion is that your engine should be sleeved if 1) you plan on running an EXTREME amount of power/torque or 2) you want to increase the bore beyond that of what the stock sleeves can accomodate. Turbo applications love an increase in bore sizes, hence the need to sleeve, whereas S/C applications do well with increases in stroke.

You mentioned "added insurance" and by no means would I call you fickle for thinking this way. The theory behind sleeving the block is to eliminate an open deck bore from walking due to piston side loading. The cause of cylinder bore walking would be from an extremely low stroke to rod ratio. The VQ has a pretty high stroke to rod ratio so side loading isn't much of a problem.

Now my suggestion: If you do pursue sleeving your block "due diligence" is key. I'd definetly make sure the machinist is competent AND has sleeved blocks before. One f**k up can cost them a block which I'm sure they won't be too eager to pay for and may just let it roll if they exceeded the manufacture specs just a hair. Next thing you know your dealing with a motor that sounds like pennies in a soda can. Beware of machinists that charge an arm and a leg to do this work for you. It usually means they haven't done one or not that many and would justify the higher cost to the longer amount of time it would take them to machine the block. As a reference, I know a guy that's a pretty damn good machinist and he's sleeved a lot of honda/acura blocks for around $600-$700 without cutting the customer a break. This is the kinda guy you want working on your motor. One that doesn't think he's gonna get rich as soon as you walk in the door with a sleeve job..

Sorry for such a long post..Hope it helped though

 

The reason people think the use of a trq plate is exotic, is becuase few machine shops have one for the VQ35. But yes, the procedure and protocol is pretty standard stuff...and yes....you should use one if you bore out the sleeves.

Overzealous, IMHO, the only person that should install Darton sleeves is Darton. Send them your block and have them do it. Installing sleeves is a challenging process to get PERFECT, and I would rather have a company that specializes in installing sleeves do this procedure. Sleeves are about $1000 and the labor another $1000. Darton also guarantees they will not leak.

 

thanks for the info guys. i have been using the same guy for about 8 years now and does all my other motors too, so he knows he's not going to get rich off of me as i assemble all of the motors myself, lol. but i do recheck his work and never had a prob yet with him.
as far as torque plates go, looking at the head bolt layout and being an open deck design, i didn't feel the using a torque plate to bore/hone the cylinders to be much of an advantage based on the bolt layout. i defineately know the advantage of torque plates and what they do. i have pulled apart small block chevs (closed deck) and seen a star pattern on the rings (5 head bolts) on low mile motors but the bolts are very close to the cylinders and run down solid next to the cylinder. the vq cylinder is separate from the head surface, meaning they do not run down the cylinder bore to distort when torqued down especially in the area needed for maximun seal near the top of the stroke.
of course i will include my own disclaimer, and call this "my own opinion", lol. i guess the only way to know for sure is to bore the block w/o the torque plate, then do the hone with a torque plate and see if there is distortion in the cylinder.
ok, back on subject. anything more than $500 labor seems like alot to me, as i can get a bore and hone for $60 a hole here from someone i trust. they just bore it bigger and step it for the sleeves. i have thought about having some upper cylinder braces fabbed to simulate a solid deck, but will encompass the outside of the cylinder tops. who knows. gotta blow it first to see how far it will go, lol. then try more stuff.

 

hey sharif, still thinking of having you out here to tune this thing too. will be getting that ossciliscope tomorrow and will figure out exactly the prob with it. surely it is simpler than the probs it is giving me, lol.
i may go work with torque freaks for about a month in my slow season too here shortly to "expand my knowledge" and give them a hand with a heavy work load. if not the dyno rental is pretty fair priced. will contact you when i get my probs figured and go from there as far as when you would be willing to make the trip.

 

Yes i have thought of sleeving and building my block for awhile now?? The only issue is the bank account... I have drained it on this car lol... which shop would be the best for the PRICE in the east coast????

 

1000$ per jug on my aircraft (750hp at the prop)....dont know if the same goes for the VQ35

 

talk to gurgen first...before deciding on any sleeving process!!!!
i would go with darton sleeves...i've ehard only good things...i've heard many horror stories about others