This is a good question. I get asked questions about engines in my blog and by everyone who knows me. One of my buddy’s asked me the other day, what a short block assembly was. A short block assembly is a stripped engine block that has been cleaned, then the cylinders are bored out enough to bring them back to perfectly round and then fitted with a set of pistons. In most cases, a short block assembly is used by the factory and dealerships for warranty engine repairs.
It is not a rebuilt engine procedure. This particular setup is used by dealerships or engine repair shops when they encounter a really low mileage engine that is in perfect shape, except for an engine block or piston problem. I know about this from my short stint at the dealership in 1979 when I first moved to Fort Pierce, Florida. I started my own repair shop soon thereafter in 1981 and sold it in 2006, just before the economy tanked. Good fortune.
The procedure is straight forward:
#1. Remove the engine from the vehicle.
#2. Disassemble it down to the nitty witty. Clean every part and remove all gaskets from all surfaces.
#3. Remove rods from used pistons and install them on the new pistons. A 10 ton or larger press is used to push the piston pins out of the old pistons and then back in to the new pistons.
#4. The engine has to be reassembled using a new factory gasket and seal kit, and new piston rings.
#5. The rest of the original engine parts are then installed on the new short block, following all torque procedures and assembly steps to a tee.
#6. Reinstall engine and recheck all your work, road test the car, recheck your work again and wipe all the fingerprints off the car.
It is a bunch of work and does not pay well if it is a warranty repair at the dealership. Perhaps the dealers still do warranty work this way, I’m sure they still do. I don’t think this is a popular method outside the factory and warranty repairs.
In the normal process of rebuilding an engine, every part has to be re-machined, not just the block. With that thought in mind, it would not be called a full rebuild if a short block is all that is used. Fully rebuilt engines have the crankshaft re-machined, the heads rebuilt and all new bearings installed to mention a few of the critical processes.
That is where GotEngines.com comes in. Every one of the Rebuilt engines we sell has been through a text book procedure of machine work and new parts, along with some fuel saving updates to modernize an older engine. We also build peace of mind and confidence into every rebuilt engine we sell. Call us @ 1-888-344-8044 and speak with a trained specialist about what’s in your best interests, put in terms you will understand.
