cost of machine work?, update on work, 1/13/12 Options

[mandrek]

ok, so im finnally getting over the "hump", and about to do the big order of parts and finnal prep work before getting it back together.

one of the guys here at my local advanced auto is an aprentice for a machinest, i have already given him my head, to get the valve seats re-cut, and the valves to be re-ground to match, as well as surface the head.
for that work he said it woudl be about 2/3'rds of the full rate of $240. (so abouts $160, since he is an aprentice) he said that he would be useing a 5 angle bit on a certi machine. and that the rest was pretty standard.

he also recomended me to the guy who was teaching him for anything els that was not related to head work.
all that i need done is:
*pollish the jernals on the crank
*clean the block
*de-glase, and put a new cross -hatch hone on the cylinder walls.
*check that the deck is flat.
i spoke to the guy and he insisted on "doing it the right way" by first checking the block and "clearing it". said he would mike the cylinders and check that the bore was not out of round, and strait, before doing any work on the hone.
for the block and crank work he quoted me $290

so. with this being my first time getting any kind of machine work done, i have no frame of reference. i did do some shopping around and this guy definatly seems like a perfectionist, and "OK" on price vs the others that are in my area. but with this being the first time i just cant gauge on if that really is a fair price or not....

so. opinions?

This post has been edited by mandrek: Jan 13, 2012 - 4:39 PM

[enderswift]

I've researched and visited a lot of machine shops in the last few weeks and I can tell you that you are getting a very good price. As long as they do quality work that's a good deal

[mandrek]

thank you for the reply!

what kind of work are you looking to get done?

[enderswift]

thank you for the reply!

what kind of work are you looking to get done?

Pretty much the same things you are looking to do. 3 angle, deck the head, polish cam journals. Hot tank block, de-glaze cylinders, polish crank. Makes for a well rounded rebuild.

[mandrek]

thank you for the reply!

what kind of work are you looking to get done?

Pretty much the same things you are looking to do. 3 angle, deck the head, polish cam journals. Hot tank block, de-glaze cylinders, polish crank. Makes for a well rounded rebuild.

agreed.. lol i got to this point by starting with a 220K mile motor, and said "im just going to replace the timing belt/pulley, oil pump, and water pump." lol. then it was...''well if im this far might as well check the bottom end and make sure that its is ok before i put it back together, especially if im planning on putting boost to it".... lol then it was "well if im getting new bearings and rings, might as well do it right and do what ever machine work i need done to take care of this seasoned motor, at least i will know that i have done everything posible to correctly prep the motor for "stock" boost lvl"...

this is my 3rd 7AFE motor that i have taken apart.. lol my original i just did not want to even mess with the botom end, the second one i bought about 2 years ago and started to take it apart, but my plans changed.. i left the area for about a year.. and then after coming back i bought a "parts" car, saying to myself that i would "just throw the parts car motor in with a few preventative maintenance items to treat the 220K mile motor right to get me going now, and build the "other motor" later"... lol

so now i am at this point..

IF i have the funds to finish this motor the way i would like it for a "stock motor prepped for boost" (referring to stock internals) the motor will have:
**-Light mods-**
*Gasket matched (+ 1mm over) ported intake ports (finished to used 80 grit)[Done]
*Gasket matched ported exhaust ports (finished all the way up to a smooth 320 grit) [Done]
*Gasket matched ported intake manifold (finished to 80 grit) [Done]
*Ported and polished intake plenum with the big blocks removed to increase internal volume. [Done]
*Anti-slosh baffle in the oil pan. [Almost done]
*ARP head studs. [still to get]
*ARP main bolts. [still to get]

**-Refreshed parts-**
*New viton valve seals. [Done]
*New OEM style head metal head gasket. [Done]
*New OEM rod and main bearings. [still to get]
*New Nippon Piston rings. [still to get]
*New cam,front, rear oil seals. [still to get]
*New gaskets, O-rings, and seals all around. [Done]
*New Asin water pump, w/ polished channel. [Done]
*New Asin Oil pump. [Done]
*Injectors sent to WhitchHunter for full cleaning and reman. [Almost done]
*New silicon vaccume hoses and water hoses.
**-Prep work to be done by machine shop-**
*Polish crank journals. [still to get]
*Full clean of the block. [still to get]
*Mike check all aspects of the block. [still to get]
*De-glaze and cross hatch hone the cylinder walls. [still to get]
*Deck the head. [Almost done]
*Re-cut valve seats. [Almost done]
*grind valves to match new seats. [Almost done]
*full clean of the head. [Almost done]

**-Supporting mods done wile motor was out-**
*New duel row all aluminum radiator.(GT4 style) (had to . old one had swollen end tanks and was leaking.) [Done]
*New slim fans. [Almost done]
*New 3-to-4 ply silicone radiator hose and SS 90* pipe to re-rout GT return back to ST return. [still to get]
*New High efficiency transition fluid cooler (ST auto, new rad does not have trans cooler, and will also help keep trans temps in check under racing/harder driving w/ boost) [Almost done]
*AEM trans temp sensor and gauge. (keep an eye on trans temps letting me know if i have to change location of cooler or add a fan. also AEM only one i found that had aux output for data logging) [Almost done]


lol that about sums up what i have/ will have for the refresh once i am done. needless to say that the list goes on, but thats about it for what is related to the engine bay overhaul..
also taking car of some rust issues and interior work..

I do not know if there is anything els that i should address wile i have the motor out an open, i believe that i have addressed all necessary items on the overhaul. and supporting mods for a reliable "stock" boosted 7AFE. The only thing that i can think of would be to have the stock rods milled and re-tapped to take ARP 2000 studs, but i am planning to do only about 10lbs of boost with a CT26 on this set up. with a max of 16lbs on E85.. and if i wan to go any harder on this motor i will not do it with out getting a set of Belfab rods. and with the cost of the modification to the stock rods i might as well wait and save the money and get the belfab's later.

[97lestyousay]

sounds like a decent price, we don't do automotive stuff but the shop I work at charges $120.00 an hour plus materials.

[mandrek]

sounds like a decent price, we don't do automotive stuff but the shop I work at charges $120.00 an hour plus materials.

OUCH!!! what kind of shop is that?

[97lestyousay]

We do prototype work for the ndt (non destructive testing) industry, we build stuff to check for cracks in turbines, pipes, bearings and some x ray equipment. We build complete automated systems and some small (sometimes too small) handheld units. It is intersting work but also high stress. I have worked on things that have 100 machine hours in them, putting the finishing touches on something like that is not always so fun. haha

[Smaay]

good luck with all those non OEM gaskets. I have never seen them last long. you will have leaks

[mandrek]

good luck with all those non OEM gaskets. I have never seen them last long. you will have leaks

yeah, im doing what i can to minimize cost, and get as many OEM parts as i can.. but i will be getting back into this motor within 2 years, and do a full OEM set at that point in time.. unfortunately i just just do not have the budget to do yota all around.. this time around


think it will last that long at least?

[Smaay]

its a gamble

[mandrek]

ok, so just got call from machine shop... said it was pretty much done and that the initial cost was $190 and not the 290 first quoted. but that when he checked the deck for straightness that there is a slight warp.. a small deflection of .0003 in the middle of the block. and that to correct that, it would cost $135 to plain the deck.

so i am wondering, is a deflection of .0003 negligible? or should is it something that i need to address.. yes the motor will be seeing boost, and yes i have ARP head studs and OEM HG, as well as a fresh resurface on the head...


This post has been edited by mandrek: Jan 13, 2012 - 6:02 PM

[enderswift]

.0003? as in 3 ten-thousandths of an inch? I'd really like to know how he even measured that...

According to the 3sgte FSM thats well within spec.

[mandrek]

i think i wrote that correctly... 3 one-thousandths of an inch... for a 7afe... he referenced that it was thinner than a sheet of paper.

This post has been edited by mandrek: Jan 13, 2012 - 7:47 PM

[enderswift]

i think i wrote that correctly... 3 one-thousandths of an inch... for a 7afe... he referenced that it was thinner than a sheet of paper.

3 zero's put you in the ten-thousandths range, which is gold foil territory haha. But if its 3 thousandths then you are still okay, the manual states a maximum warp of .0079.