To hone or not to hone

[skanders01]

I did a search on honing cylinders and uncovered several opinions which makes sense as it is not a black and white answer. So, one the basis of the following, any advice in this specific situation would be appreciated.

1. Rebuilding three CD-11 powerheads.
2. No apparent sidewall scratches on any of the 6 cylinders
3. Doesn’t appear to be any glazing
4. Cylinder bore doesn’t appear to be very far out of spec.
5. I don’t own any honing equipment

To hone or not to hone???

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Kyle Anderson
Trempeleau, WI
skanders@triwest.net
920-764-0501

[fleetwin]

Well, I would probably give the cylinders a quick hone job. But, I would use one of the ball hones that will reach all the imperfections in the cylinders. Using a rigid hone usually "misses" several spots, due to worn areas in the cylinders. Continuing to "hone" in an effort to reach all areas results in removing more material from cylinder walls….
You could also just use some fine emery and just "rough up" the cylinder walls by hand to remove the glaze.

[Tubs]

A "Boathouse Repair" is one thats done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Tubs.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by Tubs.

[necks]

Every engine I have had apart that I was going to install new rings in, I always used a ball hone, just enough to rough the cylinder up, so the new rings would seat quicker, use oil. Never had any problems.

[chris-p]

New rings = hone the cylinders, every time.

[chris-p]

If you are putting the old rings back in, keep them in the same spot on the same piston.

[outbdnut2]

quote Chris_P:

If you are putting the old rings back in, keep them in the same spot on the same piston.

Good advice, especially on motors where there are orientation pins to keep the rings from working around the piston. I’ve been known to move old rings to replacement pistons, keeping them in the same orientation if the old rings are OK.

[skanders01]

Thanks to all. I will be installing new rings. So, with that, and the input being unanimous….. I will hone. Did some internet research and came up with what sounds like a very effective, very easy to use hone trademarked "Flex Hone." Less than $25 so I will see how effective and easy it really is for this first time honer (spell check didn’t like that!)

Thanks, all, for the feedback. If anyone has used this before, or is interested in how this thing worked, let me know.

Kyle Anderson
Trempeleau, WI
skanders@triwest.net
920-764-0501

[fisherman6]

The "Flex Hone" is a ball hone. They work great. I have one to hone cylinders on my air cooled VW engines. I need to getna couple more for outboards.
-Ben

OldJohnnyRude on YouTube

[chris-p]

The ball hones are good, easy to use. They don’t show any imperfections however, as they hone along the contour, perfect or not. They are also bore size specific. So for an enthusiast, one would need to buy many, many different hones.

For someone that is an enthusiast, a rigid style hone might be better, as it would cover a wider variety of bores, for different projects. They also show imperfections better than a ball hone.

Just my 2 cents.

[Author]

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