Can anyone help me out with this? I've been told its a good idea to deburr the block before assembling it, so I guess I should look into it. Can it be done with a Dremel tool, or does it require a Die Grinder? What type of abrasives will I need and where can I purchase them? What parts of the engine actually need to be cleaned up? Thanks for the help!

 

Scott,

A Dremel will work, but it will be a lot slower. Try to remove any sharp casting flash at the mold parting lines, smooth out the heavy ridges from the mold imperfections, and radius the sharp corners at machined areas in the crank clearance webs. Areas where this is common are the lifter valley, crankcase webs, and oil pan flange areas.

If you are treating your crank to a deburring, the extra casting/forging flash can be removed in the same manner, and the counterweights can be dressed to be more regular, but you'll probably want to balance the assembly after you've finished. A few grams of metal can make quite a difference at RPMs.

Of course you'll have to thoroughly wash and dry the case when you're finished, and apply a rust preventive.