Chevy aluminum LS engines have iron cylinders. Are they cast in, or pressed in? What would it take to replace one cracked cylinder liner? Is replacing one at home out of the question, or is this complex enough that a machine shop must be involved. I ask because I know where there is a cheap 6.2 aluminum engine, with one cracked cylinder and a bad rod/piston.
Pressed in iron liners. I would not attempt home redo, but if it were cheap enough i would try because worst case a new ls3 block is sub 1300 from gm.
Got pics? Contact info? You probably don't need to buy this but you should definitely tell me where to get it 
Replacing liners usually means redecking and rehoning adjacent cylinders at a minimum.
How do you get the old liner out?
In reply to DeadSkunk:
I've seen it done two ways. Machine out with a boring bar, or weld a few top-bottom beads (or just hit with torch) to shrink it so it comes out easily.
The boring bar method is generally for if you're putting larger OD liners in anyway, since you're most likely not going to be dead-on concentric.
Knurled wrote: Replacing liners *usually* means redecking and rehoning adjacent cylinders at a minimum.
Which makes a brand new block sound attractive
How cheap is it?
$400. It's on Detroit Craigslist.
Like, long block with heads? If so, that's a good deal.
Have you got a machine shop lined up to do the work? What price did they quote? You really need that figure in hand. LS engines vary greatly between models with some models not worth fooling with. Also, if the iron liner is cracked there is a good chance the block is cracked as well.
In reply to doc_speeder:
Yes. Ad says the valves are good, but one combustion chamber on each head has damage, there's one bet rod and bad piston.
In reply to Chas_H:
I was thinking it might be a Challenge engine if the liner could be done at home somehow. If I involved a machine shop it'll not be a viable option.
DeadSkunk wrote: In reply to Chas_H: I was thinking it might be a Challenge engine if the liner could be done at home somehow. If I involved a machine shop it'll not be a viable option.
sounds like too much work with combustion chamber damage to both heads. If one head and the crank were good I would take a chance.
Knurled wrote: In reply to DeadSkunk: I've seen it done two ways. Machine out with a boring bar, or weld a few top-bottom beads (or just hit with torch) to shrink it so it comes out easily. The boring bar method is generally for if you're putting larger OD liners in anyway, since you're most likely not going to be dead-on concentric.
I was going to recommend the method in bold, assuming the liner is thick enough. I've had to "weld shrink" outer bearing races at work a few times to make them easier to remove without damaging the bearing block.
DeadSkunk wrote: In reply to Chas_H: I was thinking it might be a Challenge engine if the liner could be done at home somehow. If I involved a machine shop it'll not be a viable option.
If it could be done at home, I think the seller would be doing that instead of selling.
The only water cooled engines you can do liner work at home on are the "wet liner" type. Mostly found in Alfa, Renault, and Peugeot engines, more common in tractors and big diesels.
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