OK, with too much time on my hands staring at an empty block I'm almost ready to put the head on. I was wondering if there's any advantage to putting the aluminum head on warm since the block is stone cold.
My theory is that the head has a greater thermal expansion than the iron block. So, if I bolt the head on in a slightly enlarged state then I could reduce the long term expansion stress of these two mated metals a tad.
Nothing crazy here, I'll simply leave the head in the house at 65 degrees while the block is in the garage and probably at 40 degrees. Or, if there's someone here with serious metallurgical knowledge that says 'heat it in the oven'??
My theory is that the greatest expansion difference occurs when the engine is hot, so if I can slightly relieve that it would be good. On the downside, if I do this and then when the engine is stone cold there's tension because I did this, it may not be a good idea. In other words, the engine sits all night under tension and is only under slightly less stress than normal when the engine's operating it may not be a good tradeoff.
Overall, I suspect the engineers expect the parts to be bolted together at the same temperature so this is likely best.
Any obsessive/compulsive thoughts?
DougM
My theory is that the head has a greater thermal expansion than the iron block. So, if I bolt the head on in a slightly enlarged state then I could reduce the long term expansion stress of these two mated metals a tad.
Nothing crazy here, I'll simply leave the head in the house at 65 degrees while the block is in the garage and probably at 40 degrees. Or, if there's someone here with serious metallurgical knowledge that says 'heat it in the oven'??
My theory is that the greatest expansion difference occurs when the engine is hot, so if I can slightly relieve that it would be good. On the downside, if I do this and then when the engine is stone cold there's tension because I did this, it may not be a good idea. In other words, the engine sits all night under tension and is only under slightly less stress than normal when the engine's operating it may not be a good tradeoff.
Overall, I suspect the engineers expect the parts to be bolted together at the same temperature so this is likely best.
Any obsessive/compulsive thoughts?
DougM