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Originally Posted by CobraEd
Has anyone ever seen or heard of the actual bottom end of the block breaking. Not talking about rods or crank, but the block itself. I have to wonder about the need for a bottom end girdle.
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The main girdle is not added to strengthen the block. It is added to strengthen the main bearing caps. The caps only have strength in one plane (the width of the block). The caps tend to walk back and forth the other direction. The girdle ties them all together adding strength. Several girdle designs are additionally sandwitched between the block and
oil pan, giving excellent support to the main caps. So the girdle is not to preven block failure; it is to prevent the other bottom end failures.