GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

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Hrdlx62
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GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

Post by Hrdlx62 »

Hello, I have a GM 6.0 aluminum block here in the shop. A valve head broke and caused enough cylinder damage to require some form of fix. Customer wants to fix the damaged cylinder and call it good. My question is on sleeve replacement on this block. As I understand the block is cast around a grooved OD sleeve. What is the procedure for replacing or repairing the OE sleeve? Does the replacement sleeve remove all of the OE sleeve or does part stay intact? I know Melling and others have sleeves available. The LS platform is pretty uncharted territory for me. don't see alot of it here. What about an oversize piston in the 1 damaged cylinder providing it would clean up at say +.020? Thanks for any input.
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Re: GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

Post by BILL-C »

The melling flanged repair sleeves work well. Sometimes a very small ammount of the original parent bore doesn't clean up 100 %, but that has proven to be harmless.
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Hrdlx62
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Re: GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

Post by Hrdlx62 »

What about the flange dimensions on the Melling sleeve ? Is it the same as the OEM spec or does the counter bore need any rework? I have a Melling sleeve headed my way just trying to get some info before I dive into the project.
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Re: GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

Post by BILL-C »

Hrdlx62 wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 10:06 pm What about the flange dimensions on the Melling sleeve ? Is it the same as the OEM spec or does the counter bore need any rework? I have a Melling sleeve headed my way just trying to get some info before I dive into the project.
The original sleeves are not flanged. They have large ribs on od and are cast into block.In addition to boring out the original sleeve, You will need to machine a counterbore in deck of block to accept new sleeve flange.
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Hrdlx62
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Re: GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

Post by Hrdlx62 »

Thanks BILL-C, how much press fit do you typically run on these sleeves? I called Melling and the tech suggested .002, I feel this is quite a bit considering the adjacent cylinder. I was thinking more like .001 and sleeve retainer.
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Re: GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

Post by BILL-C »

Hrdlx62 wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 11:11 pm Thanks BILL-C, how much press fit do you typically run on these sleeves? I called Melling and the tech suggested .002, I feel this is quite a bit considering the adjacent cylinder. I was thinking more like .001 and sleeve retainer.
We use half a thou press fit at room temp . To install sleeve we heat block to 200* F and drop in with loctite 620.
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Re: GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

Post by MotionMachine »

I had a customer supply me with a set of Melling flanged sleeves to install. I was suspect of the flanges so I put them in my optical to look at their profile. Pic #1 is the underside, pic #2 is the top. This is magnified 25 times. When I check the usual brands, that same burr will sometimes be there (albeit smaller) but the top and bottom are flat. Customer said use them anyway, which I did. They must have worked as I never heard back but I did not like the thought of the flange being seated on it's outer diameter only.
Pic's are reversed. Left one is the top, right one is the bottom.
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Re: GM LS 6.0 Sleeve Repair ??s

Post by tt 383 »

Was wondering, and just throwing this out there since it is directly related to the Melling sleeves. Has anyone used the bigger 4.00 sleeve in the smaller 5.7 blocks? I believe the flange was the same or only a few thousandths different if memory serves. I just thought it would be a cheap alt for the bigger bore vs a Darton/LA sleeve. While def not on the strength level of those it’s supposedly stronger than the stock sleeves by a good margin.
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