Case inspection prior to rebuild Options

[Cevan]

What is the normal practice in terms of inspecting the case halves prior to a rebuild? Is this something I can do myself?

All the bearing surfaces looked fine and the connecting rod play was between .008 and .010. Assuming I don't see any visual signs of damage, does it need to be sent to a professional who I assume has an expensive tool that checks the alignbore?

[HAM Inc]

Len, In your experience, is the sagging more an issue with the aging of the case after the initial factory build, or does it continue to sag after you have properly decked it? Does the case stabilize at some point, or not?

Dave I don't see to many of the cases I deck later in life. I will say that the race cases I've decked and rechecked later were still straight. The problem could be caused by a combo platter of issues.

The new cases may have internal stresses (pretty much every casting does) that are not relieved until the engine has gone into service. Combine that with detonation, and multiple heat cycles, some involving overheating and you have yourselve a warped case!

I don't want to poo-poo anyones methods of checking the cases for sagging spigots, but I have gone over cases with a straightedge and found no issues, but when decked found that the spigots had sagged n some areas. I have detected sagging in the center areas (3 0'clock-9 o'clock) with a straight edge, but other areas are tough to detect with a straight edge. I have seen spigots that were reasonably level, but not parrallel to the crank. Regardless of the direction they are off they usually clean up with around a maximum of a .005" cut.

If the head studs are removed I charge $150.00 to deck a case. Depending on how they are crated I may charge a fee for re-packaging prior to return shipping. Plastic totes from Lowes are great for shipping cases!