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So I just brought my block to my local engine rebuilding shop to get it cleaned from metal filings after honing it. Now they're telling me it needs to be bored cause there is a small lip at the top of each cylinder. Telling me to get the crank cleaned and polished and rods checked and replace the main bearings in the crank. They then said I'd have to buy oversized pistons after it's bored (20 thou). I'm just wondering if this is ALL necessary? It will cost me after taxes just about 500 dollars. (Minus the cost of new pistons and another new set of rings for the oversized pistons. Someone reply ASAP as I am still sitting here waiting to decide.


Thanks.

dont trust shops. thats all i gotta say, they are trying to make a buck off you.

wait till someone chimes in thats rebuilt before but i wouldnt trust them.

the lip at the the top of the cylinder is where the rings stop in the bore. They can be removed with a tool called a ridge reamer. my questions would be, how much wear is there to the cylinder walls, and are any of the cylinders out of round. I think if you went to the trouble of honing them you would have checked that before doing so. If the wear is significant you would get poor sealing of the rings or blowby if a cylinder is out of round. There is a wear limit for any size ring set. Ask if they checked for wear and what they found. My assumption would be they did but ALWAYS ask what they base the recommendations on. Also if you rebuilding an engine, in my opinion it's a good thing to have the crank checked and install new bearings for the mains and rods. But then again, I am a bit anal when it comes to building and maintaining my car. I will spend more money to make sure it will last.

The ridge mainly needs to be removed before removing the pistons. The rings may catch it on the way out, risking cracking them, or the ring lands in the pistons.

Going in, it isn't a big deal, as the ring compressor will keep them from hitting the top of the bore, and the taper is in the correct direction, as to not damage them. But if there is enough wear at the top of the ring travel, it should be bored to remove it. It is only going to get worse. Eventually it will cause problems with the rings.

The shop is fairly correct in their recommendation. They could have just cleaned it and let it go. But if all you are after is a backyard rebuild, it will prolly be fine, but may only last 40 to 60 thousand miles if you are lucky.

2.4 swap?

i don't trust mechanics.. when i got a cylinder check in my old van, the
shop told me that 4 out of the 8 pistons didn't have any pressure. i
had our friend do a check and for half the price for just a check, he
said that only one was completely gone, another barely had any
pressure, and the other two were just barely lacking in perfomance.
thanks to him i saved myself $800!

Thanks guys for that info. I don't doubt the machine shop on what probably needs to be done. However the budget is currently not there. To be honest the ridge is not that large I was reading somewhere before (Google search) if you cannot catch it with your fingernail than it shouldn't be a major problem. If I was hoping for crazy power than ya I would do it. But with a stock 3.94 my power is limited. BIG power and a true srt swap is down the road as I have a source for getting complete wrecked srt donor cars for about 2000 shipped to my house (Found this source after I started this project). Right now my goal is to get this car running again and have a fun, reliable, boosted, nice looking show car. I have not been cheap about this car but I have to know when enough is enough for dumping money into it and not really making progress. If I bored it and bought oversized pistons and did all that work than I'd go even bigger for power. Invest in a srt transmission, larger turbo and lots more. But like I said enough is enough.

Thanks for the input guys!

PS - ithane yes a 2.4 swap but with all srt internals and valvetrain.

In that case, I wouldn't have even taken it to a shop to be cleaned. You could have gotten the honing grit out with some Castrol Super Clean, and a pressure washer at you local DIY car wash. Some WD40 once your done to keep flash rust at bay. The only thing needed would be an air compressor to blow all the water out of the holes/oil galleys.

Believe me, if there is a way to save a buck....

Now if you are looking to hot tank it to remove heavy rust from the exterior, then the shop is the place to take it. But that should be done before any machine work.

occasional demons wrote:In that case, I wouldn't have even taken it to a shop to be cleaned. You could have gotten the honing grit out with some Castrol Super Clean, and a pressure washer at you local DIY car wash. Some WD40 once your done to keep flash rust at bay. The only thing needed would be an air compressor to blow all the water out of the holes/oil galleys.

Believe me, if there is a way to save a buck....

Now if you are looking to hot tank it to remove heavy rust from the exterior, then the shop is the place to take it. But that should be done before any machine work.

Is crank removal necessary? I'm assuming yes but want to double check before removing.

I had assumed it was already out.

Yeah, you will want to remove it to inspect the bearings. And to be sure that the oil gallies in the crank are cleaned of honing grit. You don't want what may have gotten into the rod bearing holes getting cozy with the bearings.

No it's not removed. I loosened the bolts and all but kept it in tact so it was easier to carry in and out of the cavalier into the shop 2x each way.... alone that is opening doors all by myself. That's how much great service they offer. I set the block/crank on a table and he looked at it and basically dissed it. Yet I have had 3 mechanics who are constantly building motors tell me since then that boring it is not necessary and it's not worn down overally much. So crank is coming out in the morning and she's getting her first thorough cleaning. New thrush bearings and main bearings are going to be here in 2 days. Difficult to install? How-to? I'm still waiting on my oil pan gasket from modern starting To get impatient now. Calling tomorrow if it does Not arrive. Then I'll just keep it clean til I can close up the bottom end.

glad you figured out the correct path for you!

DoubtedNeon wrote:glad you figured out the correct path for you!

Well I look at it this way, it's impossible to win... see below!

Cheap ain't fast and reliable.
Reliable ain't cheap and fast.
Fast ain't reliable and cheap.

^FML

Thanks for all the input guys.

Just Charlie Sheen that bitch!

it can be fast and reliable, just not cheap.