Honing a cylinder block by hand

[alphatarget1]

So it's a slow day and I was just youtubing. Came across this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVVwBjnyW-U&feature=related

The guy honed his motor with a drill attachment... I have only seen machine shops honing before. Is this even a good way to do it?

 

[MiataNC]

So it's a slow day and I was just youtubing. Came across this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVVwBjnyW-U&feature=related

The guy honed his motor with a drill attachment... I have only seen machine shops honing before. Is this even a good way to do it?

This was very common back in the day. When an engine was being refreshed, and it didn't require machining the bores, bearings and rings were changed and the cylinders honed by hand or with a drill to ensure the new rings would seat properly.

Modern engines have much tighter tolerances, and you will get better results using a good machine shop for the entire process.

 

[SkullWalker]

Modern engines have much tighter tolerances, and you will get better results using a good machine shop for the entire process.

True. And that is the reason why I am surprised that he is able to hone a Miata engine like this.

 

[Pulsar]

Actually, honing itself can be done freehand. Even in the factories that make the blocks (I happen to be an engineer at one) the hone tools are free floating. The cylinder bores are bored out first, but if it's a used engine they've already got their true position correct.

I'm not surprised he can do it by hand if he's got a little practice, a floating honing tool, and knows how to make sure the tool is just the right size.

 

[Mandres]

I've done it several times on motorcycle/atv engines and it works fine. You just put a nice crosshatch on the bores so that the new rings seat properly.

You have to carefully measure the cylinders first to make sure they're round and the right size. If the bores need to be re-sized or re-trued obviously a hand hone is not going to do it.

 

[Raduque]

I've done this myself a couple times.

 

[T2urtle]

i did a chevy 350 with a drill attachment a couple years back. The motor is still running. it does take a lot of kill a 350.

 

[alkemyst]

honing is just more or less cleaning things up...boring an engine is a whole different ballgame.

 

[Squisher]

I think most people would be amazed what precision work normally done by machines can be done by hand.

Back when i was a young'n journeymen would take a lot of joy making us apprentices do the work of mills and surface grinders all by hand. Learning to do that stuff came in real handy later on when I was a die repairman and taking something off line to repair it would have shut down production for a long time.

 

[chimaxi83]

honing is just more or less cleaning things up...boring an engine is a whole different ballgame.

Yep, I agree. I honed a 2.2 liter Honda block in the garage a few years ago before I threw it back in the Prelude. Replaced all bearings and piston rings too. This was after a machine shop checked my cylinders weren't out of round or over diameter specs.

Nothing wrong with honing yourself, as long as the rotational and in-out of cylinder speeds are correct so you get the right cross hatch pattern in the cylinder. Oh, and that you're lubing with water.

 

[exdeath]

Honing isn't critical. You're just scuffing the cylinder walls to wear the rings in, there is nothing high precision about it.

But you wouldn't want to bore by hand.

 

[exdeath]

You have to carefully measure the cylinders first to make sure they're round and the right size. If the bores need to be re-sized or re-trued obviously a hand hone is not going to do it.

Ideally they won't be perfectly round or aligned without the head torqued down anyway

 

[soccerballtux]

Honing isn't critical. You're just scuffing the cylinder walls to wear the rings in, there is nothing high precision about it.

But you wouldn't want to bore by hand.

disagree, it's about giving the oil something to stick to.

 

[halik]

Did it on a seadoo motor, harbor freight sells the hone

 

[Eli]

disagree, it's about giving the oil something to stick to.

That is incorrect.

It is to ensure that the new rings seat.

 

[alkemyst]

my head assploded.

BRB picking up my brains.

 

[soccerballtux]

That is incorrect.

It is to ensure that the new rings seat.

hm... - .-
But it does help it stick to the walls, doesn't it?

 

[BUTCH1]

I used one from autozone, free loaner, worked OK, ran the motor for 30K after the rebuild without any problems..

 

[exdeath]

hm... - .-
But it does help it stick to the walls, doesn't it?

Oil for the piston is delivered through the connecting rod passage through the wrist pin and ring lands constantly. It's a constant flow under pressure, there is no need for anything to stick. Oil scraper rings deliver that oil to the cylinder walls and piston skirts while keeping oil *off* the cylinder wall above the piston and out of the combustion area.

Places that don't see or need large quantities of oil rely on soft boundary metals in the oil that coat the surfaces.

 

[soccerballtux]

Oil for the piston is delivered through the connecting rod passage through the wrist pin and ring lands constantly. It's a constant flow under pressure, there is no need for anything to stick. Oil scraper rings deliver that oil to the cylinder walls and piston skirts while keeping oil *off* the cylinder wall above the piston and out of the combustion area.

Places that don't see or need large quantities of oil rely on soft boundary metals in the oil that coat the surfaces.

I had no idea, thanks; reading more on the googles now...

 

[soccerballtux]

so then how does gas that gets into in your oil from short drives "burn off" in longer ones?

 

[exdeath]

so then how does gas that gets into in your oil from short drives "burn off" in longer ones?

It's in the form of blow by vapor and the PCV system is responsible for cycling fresh intake air through the crank case and pulling that vapor out of the crank case and back into the intake for burning again.

 

[Z28500]

Z28500... Please do not bring this old of topic up again... Post your own current issues...

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