JimmyDavidson

EDIT:NVM problem soved, ended up drilling them out, worked fine...

Well I need to remove the dowel pins. We already popped one(right rear one) through into the water jacket without any problems. Then went on to the Right Front one, and went partially in and stopped dead, dont wanna crack the block. Then tried the Left Rear and it stopped dead as well. We tried vice grips on the Left Front(I do not recommend that to anyone)... So any ideas? Are they supposed to popped through or not?

scribbles

why did you need o do this?

JimmyDavidson

Need to do what? Make this post? Because I didnt really want to have to drill them out incase I didnt center the bit right and accidently drill into the block, I wanted a sure answer but my dad went ahead and just drilled 'em out after I made this post... or did you mean take the pins out? The heads wouldnt fit on the old ones because they were deformed slightly, so we got new ones.

Vader

They pretty much have to come out if you're doing any deck work. Milling cutters usually don't like the "interrupted cut" experienced when hitting a 9/32" steel pin at standard feeds and speeds.

Heat usually helps a bit to break the rust.

scribbles

My question was why you need to remove the pins, never though about geting the block decked, makes perfect sence now, can you replace the pins after decking with new ones? or do you just use the bots for future referance? thanks for the reply.

Vader

Many times, the dowels can simply be driven through the holes and retrieved with a magnet or removed by inverting the block. New dowels (or even stepped repair dowels) can be driven back into the existing holes. I'll usually try to remove them even if the decks aren't going to be milled, since I prefer to stone the decks flat after cleaning up gasket remnants. Then again, I try to remove the drain plugs, front and rear gallery plugs, and the main oil gallery plug, too. Even though the side drain plugs frequently need to be drilled and re-tapped, and some of the square recess pipe plugs are a PITA, it's good to get them out as a customary part of preparation of the block for a good caustic cleaning. Brass replacement plugs tend to seize less, and make life easier for the next guy/girl who might want to drain the block fully or install a sensor there (who might be ME).

scribbles

Seems like a good idea when working on a block. It wouldent cost much and help get rid of a lot of problems later, cheap preventive maintnance. Do you need to replace the pins if you used studs instead of bolts for bolting the heads on? I have read that studs are much stronger and more reliable than bolts anyway, and the cost dosent seem much more. Sorry about all the questions, but I am still learning.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

The dowel pins are needed; they locate the heads correctly within a couple of .001".

It would SUCK to put an engine together and discover, oh say as you were putting the intake on, that the gap between the intake and the head was .050" bigger at one end or the other; or that the bolt holes didn't line up at all because one head is .100" rearward of the other. Or even worse, to have valves crash into the deck because the head wasn't registered correctly over the bores. Or have coolant leaks.

You need them.

There's a tool for pulling the pins. Looks kind of like a pair of pliers mounted in a base with a screw that simultaneously tightens them and pulls on them, sort of like ice tongs.

Not all of them will go all the way through the deck; especially not in aftermarket blocks.

JimmyDavidson

We already had the block decked.. but didnt think to tell the machinist to keep the pins out. The reason we think the pins stayed in is because the hole seemed to get smaller the deeper in. So they got wedged so far and could be popped the rest of the way in.

But all's good now, got the new pins in no problem.