DIY Cylinder DeGlazing? (Honing)

[Logan546]

I am installing a fresh piston & rings into my standard bore cylinder. I've heard that you can use a extremely high grit wet sandpaper and lots of WD-40? My buddy said that you can also use a scotch bright pad and WD-40. Is honing completely necessary? I don't have access to a honing rock tool that attaches to your hand held power drill... so my only options are any "old timer" ways... help with instructions?

 

[Larry's Shee]

If you're spending the $$$ for a new piston, get the cyl measured for out of round and taper. No sense putting a new piston in a worn hole, IMO.

The reason for honing is to provide a "rough" surface to microscopicly wear the rings to perfectly fit the bore.

Could you do it with sand paper or emery cloth? Yes, sort of. Were I in the middle of nowhere I would, but the cost of a cheap hone from H.F., etc. , would be better avenue.

 

[Blaaster]

The crosshatching is where the lubricant for the piston and rings hide.

The reason that the hatching be uniform and at the correct angle is that when the rings move up and down the cylinder, the oil migrates and provides an oil barrier.

If the hatching is not correct there will be places that the piston and rings may not get enough lubrication.

 

[Logan546]

What would happen if i just threw the topend back together without honing, given with a proper break-in procedure (idling cooling cycles)? I do have a shop that will hone the cylinder for $100. The reason i really done want to do this, is because its a bare bone farm-beaten quad. I just wanted to "freshen" it up a little bit. The new piston i bought is a stock bore Wiseco i got on sale for $80.

 

[Logan546]

In other words, this quad is not worth putting in even more money for what it really is.

 

[jus_me]

Worst case scenario, get yourself a flex hone and hone it yourself with a power drill.

 

[Blaaster]

Throwing a new forged piston into a used bore may not be such a great idea.

The bore should be measured to see wether the tolerances are correct.

If you do not hone the bore, firstly the new rings will not bed correctly and compression may be low.

Secondly, with improper crosshatching the piston and rings may not get lubricated enough to provide a sufficient oil film barrier to stop the piston from excessive wear.

Even if the bore may be the correct size, putting new rings into a bore without good crosshatching at the correct angle is inviting crap to happen.

 

[cwazyduck]

The Banshee that my wife bought me for our anniversary had an emery cloth hone job done to it, sadly enough, the compression dropped to sub-90 psi in about 3 tanks of fuel. The pistons and rings were absolutely trashed, thankfully though, the cylinders were still good, with a proper honing and new OEM pistons the Banshee is back on track. If it's not worth the $100 to do it right, or buy the right tool, let it sit in the shed, or let someone else have a shot at building a great trail machine.