Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

I am assessing a buick nailhead which has a sleeve in it. It is not installed on a lip. I appears to have about more than 0.110" wall thickness remaining.

The motor will be a stock replacement.
I know the preferred method of most shops is to sit a sleeve on a lip, but there seems to be some suggestions that it is not always necessary or done.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks

Sleeves fitted to a bore with no lip were common in factory remanufactured engines, or new blocks with bore repairs. I have seen sleeves done this way work reliably and fail badly. In reality more work than fail, but when they fail and move down the bore far enough to be hit by crank or rod or allow the top ring to catch, the damage is terrible.
If you have to bore a sleeve like this oversize you will lesssen its interference fit in the block to some extent. Maybe enough to move or leak, maybe not.
Personally I am not happy to risk sleeves with no lip.
I would cut the sleeve out, find another and fit it properly.
That said, the one you have may work just fine.

First off, define our terms. There is sometimes a lip on the top of the sleeve which requires a matching recess in the block deck. Leaving a shelf or stop at the bottom of the bore is sometimes also called a lip.

Even without either, if the bore was the proper ID for the sleeve, and with .110" wall, there should be no problem.

Yes, for aluminum blocks, sleeves need a lip.
Yes, for very thin walls or those which have been holed, sleeves need a lip

PackardV8 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 29, 2018 5:03 pm

If the bore was the proper ID for the sleeve, and with .110" wall, there should be no problem.

Yes, for aluminum blocks, sleeves need a lip.
Yes, for very thin walls or those which have been holed, sleeves need a lip

^^totally agree, but if I dont know who fitted it and how, and i have to warrant the engine, i wont risk it.