Tear down Results-Inputs please!!

[LanceM]

For honing I've found this method to give the best results after trying about everything else over the years.

I use a 3 stone hone, mostly because I rebuild a lot of engines that have small to large bore sizes. The "bunch of balls" hones are really glaze breakers and are sized to the bore. The trick to getting a good cross hatch pattern is getting the drill to go slow while you go fast (sort of) moving it in and out of the bore. I use a 1/2" drill, they are already geared to go slow, and I use a speed control I got from Harbor Freight for around $15.

It's easiest if you set the block on the stand so that the cylinder bores are slightly above horizontal. Place the hone in the bore so that the stones just exit the bottom, say a half inch. Take a long piece of masking tape and make a flapper out of it around the hone shaft at the top of the block, this will give you an indicator that you have reached the bottom of the bore and will help keep you from pushing the hone in too deep and banging the stones on all the hard parts underneath

When honing you need to keep the bores flooded with a lube of some kind to keep the stones from loading up. This is like skinning a cat, everyone has their favorite, mine is WD-40, cheap, sprays, and works well.

To the honing, I run the drill motor at around 60-120 rpm at a guess, not very fast, you can almost see the stones if you watch one go around. My stroke is a 1,2,3,4 count with each number being the start of the down stroke of the hone, about one second per count. In and out fast, round and round slow.

Take your time when you start and don't pull the hone out of the cylinder with the drill motor on otherwise the fun really starts happening fast!!! Always start and stop the drill motor with the hone in the cylinder, spray some lube in around every 20 strokes or so. Count your strokes and at every say 30-40 strokes stop and wipe the cylinder down till it is clean with paper towels and WD-40 and check your work. Once you have a good even cross hatch stop and move on to the next cylinder. The object is to give a good seating pattern for the rings, not remove metal, remember this is a hone not a boring tool! Held in one place too long or used too much a hone can make any taper in the cylinder worse.

Give the drill and yourself a break every couple of cylinders, it get's hot and you get tired. When they are all done to your satisfaction it is time to clean clean clean. All of the grit from the stones and metal from the cylinder walls has been flowing into the bottom half of the block. You probably have a pretty nice mess on the floor about now too Hot soapy water works well with a good hosing down afterwards with some more WD-40 to keep things from rusting and you can call it a day!

Oh, stone grit depends alot on the type of rings you are planning to install. My personal choice is the medimum grit, seems to work well for everything I have done and they cut quick. Course should only be used to try to save a bore with a scratch in it that probably should be bored, they can take and wreck things pretty fast. Fine seems to work best for me in unsleaved aluminum blocks (Briggs & Stratton).

OK that's my $.02

[LanceM]

Forgot to add a note on rings, seems like the last few builds I've done all most all ring sets come with a chrome moly top ring, easy to tell it from the rest, it looks like chrome compaired with the dull iron of the second ring. Most sets now seem to mark the top of the rings with a dot even if the ring is tapered.

[TBK1]

WOW great info, got everything ordered yesterday, rings bearings timing chain kit, complete gasket set, clutch kit and assembly lube, engine paint and only cost 350.00, local Z shop turned me on to his suplier hehehe! wont be here till tuesday but that gives the boy a chance to clean and paint everything before the build and install,

keep the tips coming, Im RE-LEARNING ALOT!!!