Duramax block strength
- Thread starter JoshH
- Start date
Are the girdles helping the blocks at all? Are stocks caps with a girdle even a worthwhile upgrade or should a guy do billet caps and skip the girdle or do both ?
I skimped on the billet mains and got a girdle but word is the one I have may not help it's (Industrial/Randy's one).
I skimped on the billet mains and got a girdle but word is the one I have may not help it's (Industrial/Randy's one).
I don't really think the girdles do anything on a Duramax. Not convinced the billet mains help anything either.
However, if your spending the money on a big build, I wouldn't talk someone out of either one because I'm sure they don't hurt anything.
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However, if your spending the money on a big build, I wouldn't talk someone out of either one because I'm sure they don't hurt anything.
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My truck has been in the 1100-1200hp range all season with many many passes on it. Stock caps and girdle. No filled block. Also LB7 crank. Street it a lot. I think clearances and maintenance are huge.
I don't think new oil or 10,000mile-old oil would make a difference in all these cases. We're not talking about spun bearings or such.
I think cylinder pressure has everything to do with these failures. Too much timing (same thing basically) will kill hard parts when we're pushing them this hard. That's why broviaks cyl pressure measuring tool on the dyno is worth it's weight. Ive always tuned our truck but never engine dynod it til this year. After dialing it in and gaining bunch of power, we Gained another 5 hp by pulling 2* out of it. So after the damage we did last year on that tune, we were able to gain power but i guarantee it's easier on hard parts this year.
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I think cylinder pressure has everything to do with these failures. Too much timing (same thing basically) will kill hard parts when we're pushing them this hard. That's why broviaks cyl pressure measuring tool on the dyno is worth it's weight. Ive always tuned our truck but never engine dynod it til this year. After dialing it in and gaining bunch of power, we Gained another 5 hp by pulling 2* out of it. So after the damage we did last year on that tune, we were able to gain power but i guarantee it's easier on hard parts this year.
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Most everyone's builds will be fine with stock main caps and a good girdle. The limits of stock blocks is around 1600 before you need to do full fills. Then it's not streetable. My newest race motor is half filled like all my others and has billet mains and girdle. I have not had any problems with bearing wear from walk or anything else. Clearances and assembly is crucial in all of this.
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It's not like we have a 53 block. Ocasionally there are going to be casting flaws, dropped blocks, machining/assembly errors, etc. But I see your point, seems Duramax blocks are stronger in stock trim than a Cummins horse power for horse power. Torque is a different story though...
I think it makes a huge difference when you are talking looser clearances. Just by switching from Schaffers to Penn Oil I seen a 4-5 psi gain in oil pressure. Use to be 18ish at hot idle. Now it's 23. Also the amount of soot in oil.
I'm wont argue that. We increased oil clearances a bit on this new engine and run wicked oil pressure. And i believe the clearances and machining can make or break it. A girdle would take care of the problems were experiencing, but the bearings are fine and we also backed the average power down some.
I'm not saying that it cant be prevented, just that no matter how many parts you use and how tough its built, it's still subject to the same torque, cyl pressures, etc. Like in gorby's case, that's pretty extreme. Would billet main caps and a girdle prevented that? Maybe. His crank basically pulled down on the main stud enough and the stud didnt fail, so it busted the block.
Blocks
I split cylinder walls at 1000 hp on my first motor in the white truck. I then hard blocked it had 8 sleeves put in and no more problems with that block. All the others have been good with a half fill on the blocks. All with stock caps and no girdle. I'm not a believer they help much either. It cant hurt anything to have it done if you have the extra money.
I split cylinder walls at 1000 hp on my first motor in the white truck. I then hard blocked it had 8 sleeves put in and no more problems with that block. All the others have been good with a half fill on the blocks. All with stock caps and no girdle. I'm not a believer they help much either. It cant hurt anything to have it done if you have the extra money.
Honestly didn't think the block was even an issue at 1000hp, Id also think a girdle would help since its supposed to evenly distribute load across all mains.
The girdles that people are using in a Duramax are kind of a joke. That's part of the problem. There isn't room for whats needed so they sell everybody these flimsy little 3/8-1/2" thick or so girdles and tell people they solve everything.
Look at tractor pulling, those guys are using 1" thick and sometimes thicker steel girdles. And I've seen them shear even those.
I'll say again, I think a girdle might help, it definitely won't hurt, but it's not doing near as much as some people think in my opinion.
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We cracked a bore last season with a half filled block @ just over 2200hp measured on an engine dyno. Engine has billet mains and gurdle no deck plate. This season fully filled block and solid iron heads engine is still running strong. Hopefully everything looks and measures good on disassembly at the end of the season.