rchrd989 Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 I just borrowed a ball hone to hone my cylinders in my l28. I read somewhere that you should use a 3.5" hone (89mm). Well the hone I have accsess to is a 4" hone. the motor is bored .75mm over. Im wondering if its that big of a deal needing a 3.5 inch or will the 4 inch work just fine? I dont want to ruin it obviously. Im unsure on the grit of the hone. thanks, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 You're probably not going to want to hear this, but I think you should rethink using the ball hone. Why not have a machine shop do a proper hone? I went down the ball hone path to save some $$$ when I switched to flat top pistons and the next summer landed up doing a proper rebuild. By then I was burning a quart of oil every few hundred miles, even more when I drove it hard. The rings clearly didn't seat right. Whatever money you are going to save is all going to be given back when you have to buy another set of seals/gaskets/ etc. Never mind the time spent doing it all again. [/lecture] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchrd989 Posted November 16, 2006 Author Share Posted November 16, 2006 Well do you tihnk maybe you didnt use enough oil while honeing? Or possibly did you go to fast? All could be factors. How much would a machine shop cost do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 Well do you tihnk maybe you didnt use enough oil while honeing? Or possibly did you go to fast?I spent a lot of time trying to get specific instructions beforehand. But in the end, without tools and a trained eye, it's quite possible, maybe even probable, that the first time I tried this I made errors. That's exactly my point to you: unless you have experience, or someone looking over your shoulder who has done this before, you could land up with the same outcome as me. While I'm all for learning by doing, for this part of engine building, if you don't get it right, the consequences are expensive and time consuming. All that said, I know a guy locally who did his own ring job, and read others who said they did too. So I'm sure it's possible. If you're interested in just getting another 20 or 30k miles out of a tired motor, then go for it. If you're looking to build a performance engine, think twice. As for price, I had my shop hot tank it, paint the block, and bore .030" over and hone. They also checked the deck for straightness, ground my crank journals 1 size under, and pressed my new pistons onto the rods. I think the total was about $250. You should call a machine shop to check what the going rate is in your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchrd989 Posted November 17, 2006 Author Share Posted November 17, 2006 yea, that does all make sense. I have honed before and i have read up on it. I also work at a motorcycle shop and the lead mechanic and I were talking about it. Ill definitly look into prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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