Cylinder hone procedure?

[Guest]

In other words - how, exactly, do I go about honing the cylinders.
Various sources say to just get a ball hone and a drill and go at it, others recommend adding lap compound, etc....

Knowing that the members here are beyond reproach in their depth of knowledge and willingness to help a moron, I thought the most reliable source of information would be the GS Resources!

82 1000 16v motor, standard bore and stroke, etc.... Bone stock, basically.

So how do I hone?

Thanks for the help!

[tkent02]

Oil the hone, turn it slowly and go in and out so it leaves a cross hatch pattern, as close to 45 degrees as you can.
Don't do it too long.

[spyug]

What he said +1. The big thing is not to overdo it. A couple of quick passes should be sufficient.

If there are any 'parked ring marks" ( i.e. if the engine was seized or not run for a long time a ring can rust to the bore and leave a mark when moved) I would try and remove as much as possible by wet and dry hand sanding first. If you use a bit of plastic pipe as a form you can wrap with wet dry and it will conform better to the bore and will not tend to gouge. Use WD40 or other thin oil as a lube rather than water , of course.

I did this on my stuck engine when I freed up the pistons and it runs fine and has huge compression.

Good luck with it and please share how it goes.

Cheers,
Spyug

[Larry D]

Set up the head in a postion to be able to run the hone through the bottom of the cylinder. I set up a large cardboard box around it so oil didn't go flying everywhere. Dip the hone in a container of oil, get the hone spinning and plunge it into the cylinder and go through the bottom, back up and down kinda slowly. As stated try to get it in 45 degree pattern and do it maybe 6-8 times. Done deal.

[Smokinapankake]

What sort of oil? And is there a preference for ball vs. stone type hones?
And how fast is "turn it slowly"?

FWIW, I can still see hone marks on the cylinder walls, with no other untoward markings or strangeness jumping out at me. The bike was running really well when disassembled, but I didn't take compression readings, so I don't have anything to go on.

Why did I disassemble it? Because it was leaking oil at the base gasket and the engine needed to be cleaned and painted. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done but certainly not the dumbest, either. Not yet, anyway....

Thanks for the input!

[tkent02]

Use the ball hones, they conform to a used cylinder better than the stones. Any light oil is OK. The old crosshatches may still be visible there, but they won't do you any good.

Like a very dull file, you can still see the teeth, they just don't work anymore.

[rapidray]

Do NOT use lapping compound!!!! Why someone would suggest that is beyond me! Also, don't use WD-40! It can cause the cylinders to glaze & you should use a honing oil. Even a knife honing oil will work. Ray.

[tejasmud]

I just did mine.

240 grit silicon carbide flex hone (ball hone), and honing oil.

I made a 2x4 rectangle frame to fit the base of the cylinders.

It took, I would say 30 to 40 seconds per bore.

Keep the ball hone moving and don't stop in the bore.

Mine had rust stains from where the pistons sat for years, and a carbon ring at the top of the bore, but it was still slightly visible after I finished.

Make 8 to 10 passes, wipe the bore out, and check it. I did this about 3 times until I was satisfied.


Looked like this.






I solvent washed the cylinders afterwards. Wiped them with an oily cloth.

But, will clean the oil out before assembly so they will be dry, and the rings will be dry on start up.

Eric

[tkent02]

That one looks good!

One more thing, a powerful drill with low gears and a speed control that will hold a constant very slow speed is good, it's hard to get a nice crosshatch pattern like the ones above with a underpowered drill and by trying to keep an even speed by adjusting the pressure on the trigger. A lot of small drills just don't go slow very well at all.

I always wash the cylinder afterwards with soap and water, as it gets more grit out even after a lot of solvent cleaning. The rag comes out with more black on it.

[tejasmud]

That was with a Dewalt cordless.

I purchased the hone & oil from enginehones.com

They have a good tech section.

http://www.enginehones.com/technical.html

[Smokinapankake]

Thanks for the info folks,

I just happened to be at my local Checker/Kragen/O'Reilley auto parts store getting oil for my wifes car when I realized their tools were on 50% sale. Unfortunately, they were mostly picked over but they did have a 3 stone hone so I bought that.

I have some (plenty!) of 3 in 1 oil, will that work okay or should I get a dedicated honing oil?

I think my drill will be adequate, a VSR Black & Decker geared to spin a max of 850 rpm. Works really well so I think it will be okay.

I'll try to post some pics of the cylinders before to get some more input...

Thanks!

[Smokinapankake]

So here are some photos of pre hone condition. This is exactly how they looked when I first opened this motor 2 years ago:







I know the pics are big; I just wanted to hopefully show with reasonable clarity how they looked. Pretty shiny but no strange parked ring marks or anything out of the ordinary.....

[rapidray]

3 In 1 works very well actually. Have someone helping you to squirt it in as you hone each hole. Not a lot, just to keep it wet. Ray.