basic hone & re-ring

[Shifty]

Hey kids

My 4AGE runs great but uses a bit of oil as it's done some miles.

Doing valve stem seals but am considering doing a very basic re-ring as well:

* if it ain't broke don't fix it
* head off
* big ends out the bottom (number them)
* rods/pistons out the top (number them)
* crank stays in
* check bores & tolerances ok
* flex-hone
* big ends/rods/pistons back in as per numbered order & reassemble
* skids

Before anyone says "do it properly" I already have a big-dollar car and this is my cheap one for now... just looking to give her another year or so before the "do it properly" really arrives.

Has anyone had any experience with this, or have thoughts/comments to add?

I'm mechanically competent & experienced but haven't done a hone or re-ring before.

[munki]

You can get away with this just make sure you

* check for the amount of wear in the bores (cant remember the max tolerance in a 4age off my head)
* Do not leave the crank in the motor honing puts all sorts of shit everywhere
* Do not use a ball hone they are useless.
* Check wear on crank get linished (or ground if required) new bearings, make sure the thrust tolerance is correct. It is worth every cent.
* yes number and order everything and i saw no mention of new rings?
* lube everything up with decent assembly grease and prime the oil pump. make sure it is working properly!
* use a decent running in oil.

that to me is a basic re-ringer, it will cost a couple of hundred more to get bearings and crank done but it will last you like a proper engine if bore tolerances are in spec.

[Shifty]

I was going to use a flex-hone which I assume is the "useless" ball hone you were talking about? I'd always thought those three-pronged hones were the rubbish ones?? A suggestion/link to actual hone you would recommend would be appreciated.

I kinda wanted to leave the crank & bearings alone. If I took the crank/rods to a machine shop, could they specify correct bearing size and do everything ready to bolt straight back in or do I have to do extra dicking around? That's kinda what I'm worried about, I don't want it to start getting too involved when at this stage there are no outward signs of issues with big ends or mains.

..............oh and yes new rings of course, I thought that went without saying as I was asking about re-ringing

[munki]

Yes the three prong hones are best with decent quality stones. The problem with the others is that they dont do much so its harder to stuff anything up, but also harder to get a decent hone. I use a supershit 3 prong hone with snapon brand stones which are far better quality and grit. The supershit stones find their way into the bin.

If there are no discernible marks on the journals you can typically get away with just a linish and then get standard sized bearings/same size thrust washers. A machine shop will advise you the bearings required so if they for example do a 10/10 grind you will need 10thou undersized mains and big ends. Thrust washers dont typically change unless there has been some modifications from a high amount of wear. you can dummy assemble the crank and check the thrust clearence and change if required. They are not an expensive item.

Typically most machine shops are very good at their job and dont make mistakes but it never hurts to double check measurements and its pretty easy to notice that your crank locks up when you have torqued your mains up.

If you want to know anything else dont hesitate to ask

Daniel.

[Shifty]

Hey mate, thanks for your replies. I would go to PM but it's probbly useful info for the masses anyway.

Regarding fitting rings, assuming the piston/bore clearance is within tolerance you can just use a new set of standard rings yes on old pistons yes?

Does anything other than the crank need to go to the machine shop?

[assassin10000]

Yes, if bore wear is not excessive/tapered badly and only needs a re-hone, you can just toss new rings onto your old pistons.

Crank and the block need to go to the shop to have the bores checked (unless you have the proper tools already) and for checking bearing/thrust clearance, as well as polishing the crank. Plus they can clean the block after honing in a solvent tank.

Andrew

[fantapants]

ask shitcunt4?

seriously though, what are the worse case of leaving the crank in? if decent precautions are taken?

[assassin10000]

Doesn't matter, that shit gets everywhere. It'd be a giant PITA, especially since it'll get down between the crank & main cap where you can't clean it easily. Pull the crank.

Andrew

[munki]

Yeah its hard enough to clean out all the grey sludge without the help of a spin washer, but the worst thing is to risk having crap on the crank/journals. rule 1 clean everything xeleventy billion, rule 2 see rule one.

[munki]

also If you have a telescopic guage and a feeler guage you should be able to measure the bores/thrust with enough accuracy. A dial guage is nice but not necessary.