block guards "good or bad"?

[redlined302]

Have you read the conversation to this point?

Ill be honest, I just skimmed through it. I have a huge migrane coming on and will be taking advil and crashing out soon so with my head hurting and all I wasnt really up to reading the full conversation like I usually do. Just every time I have seen block guards used it was more a quick temporary fix as oppose to a full sleeve job. I know people who have gone through it a lot and ended up just being better off sleeving the block as oppose to using bloc guards.

[turbo90accord]

Block guards are a band-aid for something that should be done properly if needed at all. The stock sleeves with forged internals can handle over 350hp. Thats with no block guard or sleeve work.

For anything over 350hp it would be wise to do sleeves.

[MortsAccord]

Honestly though, on a good seasoned engine with 200k on it, the sleeves will probably never shift before they crack or you blow the head.

Aluminum has a great tendency to partially weld itself to other metals over time, so they probably wont shift at the core any, but a block guard helps to quell any shift at the top when installed correctly. I just hate people dogging a product that got bad rep because numerous people are idiots.- they get the idea they can produce 200+ hp/liter reliably and will blame what ever they want, somewhere along the way blackguards got in there.

Can they be bad? Yes. But then again a broken clutch place or pressure plate will spin a main bearing. Ask 9800rpms on superhonda, his main spun and was thought to be oil starvation until he actually unbolted everything and found that. Its hard to say where bs comes from, or how relevant their blame on a particular part is.

What I do know for a fact however is that the water flow can become restricted compared to what there should be, even more so if the block guard allows air to be trapped from a flat design rather than a taper which they should have. This results in higher cyln temps, more expansion, and an interference fit when things get too hot because someone didn't take the proper steps when installing and checking clearances, or checking for an increase in water temp on the cyln heads.

Flow modifications should be considered on closed deck applications, people overlook it and as a result they hate on the blockguard because they were idiots who didn't take the proper precautions when adding a obstruction to the cooling system.

That's my story and im sticking to it.

[wed3k]

the best part is that it is good insurance. it's like not getting insurance because one has never been into an accident. it is merely statistics....

you don't know when sleeves are going to shift, it's not like there's a sleeve shift sensor. egt and a/f sensors aren't going to tell you shit. once it begins to smoke then youre fucked anyways.

[deevergote]

My claim that a block guard will warp cylinders comes from Bisi. He said it in a post on here some time ago. Regardless of anyone's opinion of the man, his company, or his products... you can't deny that he knows how to build an engine.

[danf20bcb7]

this is a topic where you will get a 50/50 answer, the normal block guard when installed welded,loctited, or just pushed in will always egg the cylinders needing a slight bore to make them round again. , devcon... if not done properly it will end up acting as an insulator and retain more heat than is normal and overheat the aluminum block. theres another form of sleeve fortifying that i just see as pointless but thats just me its called studding, its where you drill into the side of your block dead center of the sleeves and thread it and screw a stud into the block until it touches the sleeve then epoxy the stud that is left outside the block to prevent leaking. the list goes on with sleeve aids. all are iffy but like the OP said stock sleeves can hold alot. and if your putting more than 300 hp thru that engine you might as well not be cheap about it and sleeve it loll. GL

[theSOB]

If you're worried about it just go get a closed deck block

[wed3k]

My claim that a block guard will warp cylinders comes from Bisi. He said it in a post on here some time ago. Regardless of anyone's opinion of the man, his company, or his products... you can't deny that he knows how to build an engine.

you don't need a degree to understand that concept lol

[MortsAccord]

this is a topic where you will get a 50/50 answer, the normal block guard when installed welded,loctited, or just pushed in will always egg the cylinders needing a slight bore to make them round again. , devcon... if not done properly it will end up acting as an insulator and retain more heat than is normal and overheat the aluminum block. theres another form of sleeve fortifying that i just see as pointless but thats just me its called studding, its where you drill into the side of your block dead center of the sleeves and thread it and screw a stud into the block until it touches the sleeve then epoxy the stud that is left outside the block to prevent leaking. the list goes on with sleeve aids. all are iffy but like the OP said stock sleeves can hold alot. and if your putting more than 300 hp thru that engine you might as well not be cheap about it and sleeve it loll. GL

Its a flow restriction, not so much an insulator. Thats where the heat comes from.

[danf20bcb7]

Its a flow restriction, not so much an insulator. Thats where the heat comes from.

said "if not done properly"

[ivarcj]

idk about the whole bisi thing.. dont get me wrong i have his cam, springs, and oversized valves. OH WAIT they wernt his valves their supertech valves sold by bisi. i bought oversized valves for my head since i was porting and polishing and decided to up size my valves so i bought some from bisi when i got em they had supertech stamped on em.. so i call supertech and mic'ed em and cross refrenced em and come to find they are from an NSX LOL yup thats right so.... had i had just a little bit more engines torn apart and perhaps a dealership spec book im sure i could have figured this out on my own without having to deal with a "middleman"<----bisi. in my opinion thats what he is from my experience at least.. again not that im dogging the product or the company. but i persued supertech befor i went to bisi. guess in the end i got what i wanted LOL!!!

as far as the "liquid Aluminum" block gaurd. i researched up and down and went back and forth to jegs and summit speaking with customer reps about "BLOCK FILL" and really the only thread i saw that posted results about using Liquid Aluminum ended in a bunch of very small cracks throught the cylinder walls. i just cant believe i read through 26 pages to find this out. oh well i took one for the team. its still unsure if the liquid aluminum did it or the pump gas and detonation.."shrugs shoulders" i guess without proper scientific research we will never know..

Block guards are a band-aid for something that should be done properly if needed at all. The stock sleeves with forged internals can handle over 350hp. Thats with no block guard or sleeve work.

For anything over 350hp it would be wise to do sleeves.

tnx for that turbo90accord. i see what you have and what you have done with yours and in all honesty if i hit 300 with a 60-1 and everything done except sleeves ill be happy.anything more and im extatic.

went to the drags this weekend and my buddy pulled an 11.2@126 on 16 lbs. with his b18c that we built. only touched the surface though.. 30+ lbs comming up jun 1st. umm yea this ones sleeved...lol.... for your viewing pleasure..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=XQCQJPABD9s

[wed3k]

idk about the whole bisi thing.. dont get me wrong i have his cam, springs, and oversized valves. OH WAIT they wernt his valves their supertech valves sold by bisi. i bought oversized valves for my head since i was porting and polishing and decided to up size my valves so i bought some from bisi when i got em they had supertech stamped on em.. so i call supertech and mic'ed em and cross refrenced em and come to find they are from an NSX LOL yup thats right so.... had i had just a little bit more engines torn apart and perhaps a dealership spec book im sure i could have figured this out on my own without having to deal with a "middleman"<----bisi. in my opinion thats what he is from my experience at least.. again not that im dogging the product or the company. but i persued supertech befor i went to bisi. guess in the end i got what i wanted LOL!!!

PEP actually offers 0.5mm oversized valves for a really good cost. i do like the supertech's because of the coating.

[H22WAGON93]

This would be the best route to go, other than sleeving
http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...13373167100181
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...j9gom2h9ukNCIg
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...BG8Nai2CXyMIkA

[deevergote]

I still don't like the idea.

Honestly, the stock sleeves should hold plenty of power. If you're doing a build serious enough to reinforce the stock sleeves, then the build should be serious enough to do a full resleeve.

[ivarcj]

very nice! i haven't heard of that company before but the concept looks similar to a block guard only a bit thicker. i'm just waiting on my high volume pump and wiseco pistons arrived this weekend, about to open my thread on my build,stay tuned all.just need to figure out this photobucket business.