Balancing and Blue Printing?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 318
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From: Austin TX
Balancing and Blue Printing?
Could someone explain to me what exactly happens when you have an engine balanced and blue printed? I've heard this term being thrown around the forum a bit and can make assumptions of what goes on... but I thought I'd ask the people who know and settle my uncertainty.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Re: Balancing and Blue Printing? (dusty350)
Balancing is like balancing your tires. All pistons, rings and wrist pins are brought to the same weight. The rods both big and small end are brought to the same weight then the whole assembly with the crank, harmonic balancer and flywheel, flexplate are brought into balance. The assembly is spun and all out vibration is taken out through drill holes or adding material. It cost around $200CDN.
Blueprinting is bring all engine specs up to factory specs. The motor is clearanced on both the crank and pistons, dome height is adjusted, rod length adjusted etc etc. Most just bring clearances up to specs and call it blueprinted but some go even as far as checking rockers arms for ratio and like I said length of rod.
Hope this helps
Blueprinting is bring all engine specs up to factory specs. The motor is clearanced on both the crank and pistons, dome height is adjusted, rod length adjusted etc etc. Most just bring clearances up to specs and call it blueprinted but some go even as far as checking rockers arms for ratio and like I said length of rod.
Hope this helps
Drifting
Joined: May 2001
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From: Holly MI
Re: Balancing and Blue Printing? (dusty350)
Balancing refers to the rotating assembly, the pistons, rods, crank, and in some cases the flywheel. The goal is to make sure all the pistons and rods are the same weight cylinder to cylinder; as well as the crank throws. To balance the engine, all the pistons and rods are weighed and the heavier pieces are machined/ground to remove weight. The crank can be made heavier with the additional of heavy metal slugs. In many engines, the 454 for example, the flywheel must also be balanced because it's not symetrical. The 427 is internally balanced, and the flywheel is symetrical.
Blueprinting is the process of measuring all the engine clearances and making modifications where necessary to ensure the clearances are correct. This can apply to oil clearances, rod side clearances, piston deck height, etc.
There are many good books on the subject that can be found at speedshops and regular bookstores.
Blueprinting is the process of measuring all the engine clearances and making modifications where necessary to ensure the clearances are correct. This can apply to oil clearances, rod side clearances, piston deck height, etc.
There are many good books on the subject that can be found at speedshops and regular bookstores.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Austin TX
Re: Balancing and Blue Printing? (bb69)
This sounds like something your normal shade tree mechanic might not be able to tackle. True? So do people who have their engine balanced and blue printed build their engine and then send it to someone to do this, only to have them essentially disassemble and reassemble their engine?
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Re: Balancing and Blue Printing? (dusty350)
All clearances are machined in, but the motor is rough assembled to check things and any corrections are then made. Before the final assembly and after all modifications are done it is sent to the balancers in pieces and after balanceing it is final assembled. The blueprinting is time consuming the balancing is done in a couple of days but really only takes the balancer a few hours to complete the work. For $200 CDN you are not getting a few days of his time.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 1999
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From: San Diego CA
Re: Balancing and Blue Printing? (dusty350)
Both will usually require some access to machine shop equipment to complete. Blueprinting, being the process of documenting and verifiing factory clearances within the engine can sometimes be done without machining, especially with a good block showing little wear.
As I understand it, Blueprinting is literally no more than documenting the correct clearances throughout the engine. There are a lot of measurements to do , but they can be done at home.
Indexing cranks or rods, boring lifter or piston bores perpendicular to the crank centerline are not part of a blueprint job (Unless they are required to make one or more items reach factory tolerances, which is very unlikely).
As I understand it, Blueprinting is literally no more than documenting the correct clearances throughout the engine. There are a lot of measurements to do , but they can be done at home.
Indexing cranks or rods, boring lifter or piston bores perpendicular to the crank centerline are not part of a blueprint job (Unless they are required to make one or more items reach factory tolerances, which is very unlikely).
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Re: Balancing and Blue Printing? (MotorHead)
norvalwilhelm --> $200 CND for balancing and how much for blueprinting ?
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I don't know how much to blue print. If you just want the motor clearanced that is easy enough for any machine shop. When you blueprint it can involve getting larger dome pistons then cutting the dome down to specs, it can involve bushing the rods then making them an exact length, It can go on and on into the thousands. I built stock engines that cost more then 2 or 3 times the cost of a rebuild. These engines were stock but everything was pushed to the stock limit. This is too espensive for your needs.
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I don't know how much to blue print. If you just want the motor clearanced that is easy enough for any machine shop. When you blueprint it can involve getting larger dome pistons then cutting the dome down to specs, it can involve bushing the rods then making them an exact length, It can go on and on into the thousands. I built stock engines that cost more then 2 or 3 times the cost of a rebuild. These engines were stock but everything was pushed to the stock limit. This is too espensive for your needs.
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Re: Balancing and Blue Printing? (dusty350)
Around here it's @ $700 to show up at a machine shop with a used block with your rods/crank/pistons. Blue printing - is the process of returning everything to the correct axises like the original blue print the engineer drew For that you get cylinders bored true with torque plates. the crank and cam bearing holes are align bored. All thread holes are taped perpendicular to the surface. The cylinder decks are machined true to the bores and flat.
The job of balancing is you take the heaviest piston and match it with the lightest rod. Then you remove metal from the large end of the rod till all sets weigh the same. then you add or remove metal from the crankshaft until it's balanced with weights equal to the mass of your rods/pins/piston/rings.
The job of balancing is you take the heaviest piston and match it with the lightest rod. Then you remove metal from the large end of the rod till all sets weigh the same. then you add or remove metal from the crankshaft until it's balanced with weights equal to the mass of your rods/pins/piston/rings.