• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Cylinders - To hone or not to hone, that is the question

  • Thread starter Thread starter williampkerr
  • Start date Start date
A hone is not required and only gives you more oil consumption. Just put new rings in or clean the grooves and put the old rings back. Unless you can make it a very very light hone.
And do check valve guides as just putting new seals on worn guides is not going to do a lot. You only need that hone after a rebore really.
 
New rings, or old rings if I don't know how the comperession was, I'm honing. A few seconds with a bottle brush hone isn't going to cause any oil burning.

At least it never has on the engines I've put together.

Grinding away at it halfway to the next overbore maybe.
 
But it won't make the compression higher that I do know. It just make the resistance for the rings a bit higher which you feel when you turn the engine over by hand. If you like it do it :).
 
It can make the compression higher if the rings never seated properly the first time.
 
Ton1959 said:
A hone is not required and only gives you more oil consumption. Just put new rings in or clean the grooves and put the old rings back. Unless you can make it a very very light hone.
And do check valve guides as just putting new seals on worn guides is not going to do a lot. You only need that hone after a rebore really.
Click to expand...


I always hone with new rings. Don't think they will seal if you don't.

The question is whether it's necessary to hone when reusing rings. Personally, I don't think it should be done unless you have a specific reason for honing - removing some surface rust on the cylinder wall for example.
 
Nessism said:
I always hone with new rings. Don't think they will seal if you don't.

The question is whether it's necessary to hone when reusing rings. Personally, I don't think it should be done unless you have a specific reason for honing - removing some surface rust on the cylinder wall for example.
Click to expand...

My rings are in spec. I have been debating whether or not to hone. I have cleaned the pistons and lapped the valves. My first top-end overhaul, so trying to do it right. Pretty proud of the cleaned up pistons.
 
How was the compression before? Looking at the black around the piston's wrist pin area, it may not have sealed all that well before. Maybe the original owner babied it during break in or something. My 450 pistons are completely clean below the top compression ring, I know it's rings were sealed well.

I'd hone it lightly and break it in hard to get the rings to seal.
 
tkent02 said:
How was the compression before? Looking at the black around the piston's wrist pin area, it may not have sealed all that well before. Maybe the original owner babied it during break in or something. My 450 pistons are completely clean below the top compression ring, I know it's rings were sealed well.

I'd hone it lightly and break it in hard to get the rings to seal.
Click to expand...

Warm engine, dry compression test: compression on 1 and 4 was around 80 psi. Compression on 2 and 3 was around 120 psi.

Warm engine, wet compression test: compression rose across the line by about 20 psi.

I think a lite hone would probably be beneficial.
 
Since you don't really know why the compression was on the low side, it sure couldn't hurt to do it. Lite being the key word here. Not going halfway to the next size, just a few seconds in each bore to get the cross hatch pattern.
 
You can choose to not hone on your engine. Up to you.

I prefer not to take it apart to fix it again. Prefer not to have low compression. Prefer not to have blowby.
Millions of mechanics and engineers all over the world for well over 100 years probably know what they are doing.

It's been working for me for a long time as well. I think I'll stick with what I know works.
 
Seems to me if there's a 1% chance it helps to hone I'm doing it, there is no down side.

I believe it's a lot more than 1%. I have had a few engines that had low compression, the rings were not worn, the cylinders were not worn, it just didn't seal. I don't know why, I always assumed it was the original owner babying it the first few miles, but I will never meet the original owner, so that's just a guess.

Hone it, put it together with the old rings, and run the **** out of it, now it's sealed, good compression, no blowby. I don't like blowby.

It works for me.

Interesting, spellcheck doesn't like blowby either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top