jcobz28 Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 I'm just about done with timeserting the rear head. I've noticed that on the bolt holes which were particularly corroded that the drill bit doesn't get down to smooth metal in 100% of the hole. A very small amount, I'd say less than 5% of the surface area for the newly bored hole, still has evidence of pitting. Then when I tap the hole, there a very very minor spots of thread missing, where this metal pitting is located. It is extremely minor, and does not interfere with the tapping or insert install. With the loctite in there, I think the weakness of these small pitted areas has got to me miniscule. But, nonetheless, I am paranoid. Has anyone experienced something similar to this? How has your timeserting held up over time? The only possible solution I could see to this problem would be drilling out an ever larger bore and using big-serts, which I am not up for doing. A really crappy photo of what I am describing is below. Stupid auto-focus camera would not focus on the threads, this is the best pic of 20 I took... Another related question. I made a stupid mistake while pulling out the first dowel-pin. Wow, those are such a biotch to pull. I had a socket inside the dowel to prevent it from collapsing while I clamped it with vice-grips on the outside. I was twisting, prying, really working to get the dowel out, when I noticed the tips of my vice grips had slightly gouged the face of the aluminum block. I immediately stopped to assess the damage, and it seems quite minor. Kind of like something you just catch with your fingernail, but, I know this could be problematic under pressure. Any tips on how to "repair" this? I was thinking of mixing a little JB-Weld and filling in the gouge, and then lightly sanding flush with the deck. Or maybe that could cause even more problems, and I should just leave it alone, and hope the gasket will squeeze to fill in this minor imperfection. Opinions? Photo below: Thanks! -Jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 I can't see the pitting you are referring to but my off the cuff guess is that it shouldn't affect the integrity of the Timesert job. You really don't want to use the Bigserts unless you have no other choice as they are the final repair to the block. There is not enough parent material for an insert larger than the Bigsert. You will also need special alignment dowels that are oversized on one end for the larger hole that results from the Bigserts. As far as the scratch in the block goes if it is not too deep (just a few thousands) - I would take a small, flat file and knock off the high points and assemble the head. Don't try to fill the scratch with anything and don't get too crazy with the file - just knock off the high points. I'm referring to any ridge higher than the true block deck surface - don't file down to the bottom of the groove. Three of the four dowels on my engine were locked in place and would not budge. I used a socket in the ID and the bar from my flaring tool to grip the outside and they would not budge. I tried vise grips next - the dowel started to tear... I then used a piece of 1/4" aluminum flat stock held against the dowel and struck it with a hammer to deform the dowels in three places. The came right out - but you need to use care not to strike the block deck surface. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonie77 Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 I second Kevin's advice. The pitting seems very minor so I would not be overly concerned with it. There is still enough deck material for the HG to seal to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 did you have the picture awhile back with the drill in hand? maybe a month ago? I am waiting for a home mechanic to do the timesert job in 3 days or less. I know a shop can do it but I have yet to see a shade tree mechanic do it that fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhall Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Jacob, The pitting is minor and does not detract from the overall strength of the block in holding the insert in place. Don't sweat about the nick in the block surface as KHE advises. Get any sharp ridges off with a couple of short passes of a good file and leave it alone. The gasket will do the rest. I had the same problem with the dowels and used the socket and vice grip trick. It worked OK and I had to file off the marks, but they went back in just fine (it's now at 150K+ and running great). As far as the photos - I posted some pics of my rebuild and had good luck with close-up shots. I used an old Sony (3.5" computer disk type) and was able to focus in for nice close-ups. I used a 500W shop lamp for lighting. My newer cameras don't have the macro focus feature - really stinks. I kept my old Sony for stuff like this. Good luck on the start-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonie77 Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 did you have the picture awhile back with the drill in hand? maybe a month ago? I am waiting for a home mechanic to do the timesert job in 3 days or less. I know a shop can do it but I have yet to see a shade tree mechanic do it that fast. We never took more than one night. That was with two guys so it helped but it did not cut it in half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcobz28 Posted April 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Ya, that's me. Still dragging my feet on this project. I literally didn't even touch the car for 2 months straight. Too busy with other stuff and kind of burned out on the project. Then the wife started nagging and I got burned out on that, so it's back to the garage for me. I'd like to get it running in the next month or two with just working on the weekends a couple hours at a time. Thanks for the replies about the pitting and block knick. You guys make me feel better. I initially took on this project just to try and make a buck. I really don't have any interest in the car, or driving it. I just bought it off of ebay with the known head-gasket issue for $1k. Knowing nothing about N* motors, I figured I could swap the headgasket in a weekend with the motor in the car like I've done many times on Chevy SB motors. Wow, how nieve I was! I remember when I first realized the scope of what I was tackling, I almost decided to just dump the car and move on. But then I changed my attitude and saw it as a challenge to conquer something I had never done before. So far, it's gone well. No real "problems". A few crazy stubborn bolts, but I've found ways around them, or been insanely persistent until they gave way. I've learned alot, I've gained an appreciation for the complexity of the N* motor compared to other motors I've worked on. I'm kind of glad I'm doing this, and will be sad to see the car go once I get it back together, detail it, and throw it on Autotrader. Am I making a quick profit like I initially envisioned? Umm, no. I have this spreadsheet going of parts cost and labor hours in the project. Parts cost is really low, but being a newbie to the N*, the labor is really adding up. Subract the cost of parts, and figuring I sell the car in the $3-4k range, I'll be making between $15-$20/hr for my labor. That's really crappy I think, but I've had "fun" along the way. Part of me almost wants to justify keeping the Caddy after all is done, and selling my daily beater instead (97 Geo Prizm). Thanks for all the help and advice so far. I'm sure I'll need some more before the project is complete! And I'll definitely have a used timesert kit for sale in the next month or so! did you have the picture awhile back with the drill in hand? maybe a month ago? I am waiting for a home mechanic to do the timesert job in 3 days or less. I know a shop can do it but I have yet to see a shade tree mechanic do it that fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonie77 Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 did you have the picture awhile back with the drill in hand? maybe a month ago? I am waiting for a home mechanic to do the timesert job in 3 days or less. I know a shop can do it but I have yet to see a shade tree mechanic do it that fast. We never took more than one night. That was with two guys so it helped but it did not cut it in half. Let me clarify the time. Probably 4 hours for 2 guys. Only one can do the drilling and tapping. The second guy did a lot of the vacuuming. If there was only one guy it would have meant a lot of metal chips on the floor and more cleanup time later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Part of me almost wants to justify keeping the Caddy after all is done, and selling my daily beater instead (97 Geo Prizm). And you have to think about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 My newer cameras don't have the macro focus feature - really stinks. I kept my old Sony for stuff like this. I wish I'd been that smart. Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 I mean 3 days or less for pulling the motor, timeserting, and reinstalling the motor and driving away. you get my point. going from a poor running car to a sweet running machine. 3 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcobz28 Posted April 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 I think that is a crazy fast timetable for a DIY repair. I can see it being done in a shop, with a couple mechanics who have done the job before, with a lift, all the proper tools, and no interruptions. But for the casual garage mechanic without a lift, I think a week would be pretty darn fast. It looks like I'm on target for completing the job in about 80 hours. Figure 2nd time around in an absolute best case scenario I could cut that in half... maybe. I mean 3 days or less for pulling the motor, timeserting, and reinstalling the motor and driving away. you get my point. going from a poor running car to a sweet running machine. 3 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonie77 Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 DIY's rarely have all the tools, esp a lift. DIY's aren't set up as well as a commercial shop either. And I second the fact that each time you so a similar job it goes faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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