For those who care, read this: Careful with That Hone, Eugene!

Cliffs for the ambivalent:
Don't re-hone cylinders when you are just replacing the piston rings, and use cast-iron rings.
Unless the cylinders are too far out of round or tapered, or you just have to use chrome rings. Then hone but go easy.


Once again my gut instincts were right on, and I will probably be just fine with a fresh set of rings on my old bores and 1.8L new-to-me pistons.

Discuss!

 

Agreed. Nothin more to it. Common Sense > Wives Tales (unless it's actually YOUR wife, in which case reverse to lesser than sign) wink1.gif

I cringed when I saw my buddy taking his grinding wheel to the cylinder walls after he removed the head. With the pistons still in the cylinders!

 

I never hone unless I'm using oversized pistons.

 

It would be a neat trick to use OS pistons without changing bore diameter!

 

Huh? Who said anything about not changing the bore diameter? You bore it, then hone it to give it a nice cross-hatch.

 

right - you hone after you bore, that's what the article said wink1.gif

 

Yeah, I know. My post was agreeing with the article...

 

What about in the case of a block that's had some outside exposure and has rust spots in the cylinder walls. A hone may be the only option.

 

Depends on the rust. You may be able to get it out with a copper scouring pad and some WD-40. Then check carefully with your ID gauge to see if the rust spots messed up the bore. If you can run your fingernail over the spot where the rust used to be and it hangs up on the edge, you probably should hone it. Just go easy with the abrasives, and change the oil a lot during run-in.