hey guys i had my block sleeved by golden eagle a while back and it is just now being assembled, but before anything got started my builder noticed these cracks. he says that it is from when the sleeves got pressed into the block. what are all you guys opinions? he has contacted another source steve demirjian who has worked with countless ls1 and up blocks and ecotecs and is being told that these will eventually lead to water leaks.

 

not to sound like an ass but that's just fucked. can you contact the sleeve installer? your gonna need new sleeves and they should pay if they are at fault. i'd recommend going with darton.

 

ya i know thats crap right. and actually thats on the block not the sleeve. i sent the block to golden eagle and its never been put together ive been saving up money to get the thing assembled and my builder found that. golden eagle told me that its a crack from the casting!!!!! ya right. ive gone to 5 builders this week and they all say not to build this thing cuz it will leak coolant over time due to the water jackets. so now im in the process of having them buy this thing from me for their tremendous craftsman ship. looks like stress cracks from them not allowing the block to settle before sleeving. and i have 3 of them (where cylinder 1 meets 2, 2 meets 3, and 3 meets 4 but not on the outer rims

let me share with you the emails sent back and forth with this.
i sent this:
Gabe,

I had a Ecotec block sleeved about 6 months ago and the customer brought the block to Watts engine builder to assemble and he raise some concern that the sleeves may drop under high boost because the sleeves aren’t seated or supported by the block. Another concern is the hairline cracks between each cylinder on the block. I have included pictures along with this email.

Please advise.

here is the response:
Hello Tony,
Ecotec engine block is fine. The hair line crack that appears on the bottom is that of the casting. That crack shouldn't run any more, but if it does, nothing will happen. As with the Honda "Big Bore" sleeves, we happen to cut out about 1/8 inch out of the side sleeve casting. Also the, sleeves sit on top of the bracing, so it's highly unlikely that our sleeves would or will sink at high boost.

and here is sum evidence from a legitmate builder of ecotec steve demirjian who is the patent holder for darton mid sleeves:
Scott,

We, as is Darton, will not sleeve the 2.4 liter Ecotec blocks because they split between the cylinders where the liners fit into the block at the bottom of the coolant jacket. This causes the block to spread apart at the bore center line throwing the bores where the sleeves are fitted to go out of round. That area of the block needs to be round to insure the sleeves stay round. Also, the cracks lead right up to the coolant area of the block which will eventually result in coolant leaking into the crankcase.

We had a company modifying the Ecotec blocks into diesels for the US government. The 2.2 liter blocks held up fine with the Darton MID sleeves. The 2.4 liter would split during the machining process which is why I will not machine them for sleeves. The early blocks are much better suited to sleeving. I told Watt that Lingenfelter made 1,450 hp with the 2.2 liter block destroked to 2 liters. I did at least two blocks for him.
I never had any issues with the 2.2 liter blocks cracking and I have done many. They most likely pressed the sleeves into the block which caused the cracking. The Darton MID sleeves go in with no press, about a thou and a half clearance. Golden Eagle relies on the press fit and epoxy to seal the sleeves to the block. We use buna rubber o rings

Steve

let me share with you the emails sent back and forth with this.
i sent this:
Gabe,

I had a Ecotec block sleeved about 6 months ago and the customer brought the block to Watts engine builder to assemble and he raise some concern that the sleeves may drop under high boost because the sleeves aren’t seated or supported by the block. Another concern is the hairline cracks between each cylinder on the block. I have included pictures along with this email.

Please advise.

here is the response:
Hello Tony,
Ecotec engine block is fine. The hair line crack that appears on the bottom is that of the casting. That crack shouldn't run any more, but if it does, nothing will happen. As with the Honda "Big Bore" sleeves, we happen to cut out about 1/8 inch out of the side sleeve casting. Also the, sleeves sit on top of the bracing, so it's highly unlikely that our sleeves would or will sink at high boost.

and here is sum evidence from a legitmate builder of ecotec steve demirjian who is the patent holder for darton mid sleeves:
Scott,

We, as is Darton, will not sleeve the 2.4 liter Ecotec blocks because they split between the cylinders where the liners fit into the block at the bottom of the coolant jacket. This causes the block to spread apart at the bore center line throwing the bores where the sleeves are fitted to go out of round. That area of the block needs to be round to insure the sleeves stay round. Also, the cracks lead right up to the coolant area of the block which will eventually result in coolant leaking into the crankcase.

We had a company modifying the Ecotec blocks into diesels for the US government. The 2.2 liter blocks held up fine with the Darton MID sleeves. The 2.4 liter would split during the machining process which is why I will not machine them for sleeves. The early blocks are much better suited to sleeving. I told Watt that Lingenfelter made 1,450 hp with the 2.2 liter block destroked to 2 liters. I did at least two blocks for him.
I never had any issues with the 2.2 liter blocks cracking and I have done many. They most likely pressed the sleeves into the block which caused the cracking. The Darton MID sleeves go in with no press, about a thou and a half clearance. Golden Eagle relies on the press fit and epoxy to seal the sleeves to the block. We use buna rubber o rings

Steve

 

Can you get a better picture? Its hard to make out the severity of the crack. And I can tell you the I've never worked with a L61 the has "factory" cracks near the clynders/walls.

 

The crack is clearly visible. Looks rather severe if you ask me. Cracks always run...

 

more LE5 bullshit i just can't get enough

 

we tried taking a better picture but it didnt work out to well. and ya cracks run is the answer everyone is coming up with as well. im now just trying to get them to buy back this thing. i supplied the block and paid them 1500 to sleeve it. so i figure they owe me close to 2grand unless they have another eco laying around over there

 

Looks to me like they didnt check the fit before pressing it in. I think the bare bore without the sleeve needs to be within a certain tolerance before pressing the sleeve in.

 

OUCH! Darton FTW!

 

ya we talked to the guys at golden eagle today and we are trying to come up with a solution still. its either they are going to let me keep this one and then they are going to give me another sleeved ecotec block via them, or they send me money to get another block and i ship the new block and this one back to them and have the new one sleeved and checked, and checked, and checked some more.

 

That's good dude still fucked up but at least they seem like they are gonna help u out even though they should.. sucks it will delay the build though

 

ya i know i am so ready for this monster to get put together. but i hope that they keep their word and actually take care of this rather than just say what i want to hear.

o and once this thing is done done, anybody who wants a ride in it is welcome lol.
i cahnged a few things to the build being that im switching to motec and an aim dash unit, ill be deleting the stereo, a/c, and air bag controls so its an all out drag car

 

So this was an LE5 ecotec?

 

no this is a l61, the mention of the le5 is just as a reference that was sent in an email