Piston arrow direction

[Guy Croft]

Are the rings new or used?

G

[Brit01]

Hi Guy,

Apologies for posting the link. I do it without thinking, just a habit from other sites. Won't happen again.

Just bought some new Goetze rings.
Old ones had about 18-20,000 kms. But they matched them up in the shop and had virtually no wear on them.
But as routine I wanted to change everything.

My first rebuild so it's a learning curve.

Also what's the best way to clean out the crankshaft and inner block from underneath the car? ( just crank in place, no pistons or rods. The boxer is a small block and short crank. Easy to clean. Just want to make sure no bits of metal shavings are left in crevices.

Was thinking of spraying it liberally with carb cleaner as this removes a lot of varnish and dirt, then re-lube everything.

[Guy Croft]

Oh dear, this is one of those posts I dread.

Sorry but that crankcase has to come out of the car. This could be the beginning of more - not fewer - problems otherwise. the chances of achieving worse compression/running results than before when re-ringing an old-used block diminish inversely with the effort you put in.

You need to first dress the wear ridge off the tops of the bores or it will hit the new unworn rings, do this by hand with 180 grade abrasive paper & NO other method.

You need to buy a Flexhone to do the bores, any other method of prep will either make the bores so big the ring gaps will be huge (and parallel stones should never be used in a re-ring application) or the rings will never bed in. The hone type depends on the top ring type - if chrome faced steel 180 grade silicon carbide if moly coated/faced cast-iron 240 grade. Instructions on how to use are on the packet.

After honing by above method the block needs cleaning most diligently with a bucket of very hot water and powerful detergent, ideally one with a corrosion inhibitor.

The piston grooves need to be cleaned too esp the lower face of the grooves or the rings will not seal on the compression stroke. Use fine Scotchbrite held on a thin blade like a feeler gauge or steel ruler.

Stop and consider!

G

[Brit01]

Oh dear, this is one of those posts I dread.


Sorry Guy.

Now i regret taking the pistons out (The engine needed a cam and tappet change, also valve seal change).
But the piston heads had such a huge amount of oil and carbon build up I thought it was necessary to clean them.

I have chromed faced rings.

I might have to get the car towed to a local garage (who knows the 33 well) to have the bores de-glazed not honed), if I can't get a flexi-hone here.

Also will need a torque wrench to get the crank pulley off. The garage where my car is parked does not have a torque wrench unfortunately.

My wife will not be happy. She's expecting the car back in a week.

I will try and take some good photos of the bores tonight Guy before I tow the car off to a garage.

[Nobby]

Just to note: I assume you mean 'Impact Wrench' (air/electric driven) rather than 'torque wrench'

Torque wrenches should never be used to undo tight bolts/nuts as they will get damaged.

[Brit01]

Just to note: I assume you mean 'Impact Wrench' (air/electric driven) rather than 'torque wrench'

sorry yes, impact wrench.
The boxer crankshaft bolts seem to be extremely tight after running the engine. Impact wrench in commonly used to undo the 32mm bolt. Has been observed they do less damage than a huge torque wrench with the flywheel locked.

I may have a colleague coming down to Uruguay in a couple of weeks, that may be able to bring a flexi-hone.

Lot to think about here before I assemble anything.

[Guy Croft]

If you want it rendered unusable get it locally glaze busted. Irrespective of how unhappy your wife will be do as I recommend otherwise I am wasting my time and you yours. I don't want quick-fix solutions promolgated on this site, sorry.

There is a BRM agent in Colombia

http://www.brushresearch.com/distributo ... y=COLUMBIA

And one in Brazil too and I imagine you can get one shipped on UPS etc. The UK agent Pacehigh whom I have known for years and years will not hesitate to send one also UK tel is: 01707 327 788

All you need is a battery operated drill that can cope with about 400rpm. You will drench the crank and bearings/oilways in damaging carborundun and that block has to come out.

A Flexhone 180 grade silicon carbide with engine oil for honing at size GB 3 1/2 will do 76-89mm bores.


G

[Brit01]

Thanks GC.

I have a colleague coming from USA in a couple of weeks. Maybe she can bring a flexi-hone.
That site you quoted was one I looked at this morning and already added a flexi-hone to the shopping cart.
Great thanks.


Yes the amount of money I've spent on new cams, tappets, took etc I will take your advice seriously.
While it's been too cold to work in the garage on the block I've been polishing and painting all the parts in the house (overhaulin style).

Thanks very much.

[Brit01]

Someone can lend me his 3 stone honing tool. He's a good mechanic and has worked with UK racing teams.

As I just want to de-glaze and remove as little as possible, what lubricant should I use and how long should I spin this for inside the cylinders?

Maybe the 3 stone honing is too aggressive just for de-glazing?

[Guy Croft]

Read my lips before I ban you.

GET THE FLEXHONE

G



SERIOUSLY ALL READERS:
WHEN I SAY THIS, DON'T ASK, 'CAN I DO THAT?'
AND THEN EXPECT ME TO START ALL OVER
IF I THOUGHT YOU COULD DO 'THAT' I WOULD TELL YOU.
I KNOW EVERY METHOD FOR ENGINES ON THE PLANET.
I WILL TELL YOU THE BEST WAY.
THIS IS NOT 'MULTIPLE CHOICE' IT IS 'BEST PRACTICE'.

[Brit01]

GC.

I fully understand what you are saying and I respect that totally. Flexi-Hones are not available here and trying to get them into the country is extremely difficult like any car parts. Bordering on communism here.
Please accept my methods as exceptions/improvisations due to the countries rules and limitations/restrictions.

Just getting the camshafts from Argentina was a mission in itself.

Unfortunately Uruguay has it's severe limitations and many times we need to improvise (maybe not the BEST way) and we cannot get hold of certain tools or even get them into the country as customs is like Cuba.

Believe me if I could pop down to Halfords to buy a Flexi-hone I would be there in a flash.

Sending anything from a company, or involving car parts/tools to this country would most likely to be confiscated by customs.


Thanks for the understanding in advance.

[Brit01]

I am trying my utmost best to get hold of a flexi-hone, asking around here, but chances are 95% they are not imported unfortunately.

Very frustrating indeed not having the right tools available. Everything I took for granted while in the UK now comes to light living in Uruguay.

[Brit01]

Great news. Have to wait 2 weeks but I have a business traveller from our HDQ in Dallas travelling down here. She's agreed to bring a flexi-home in her suitcase for me.

My old man is telling me not to bother with these fancy tools. He always de-glazed by hand using emery paper just to get a rough surface!!! Mind you he did practice on Austin A40's! Not on an Alfa romeo boxer.

I started a thread to cover my project (received a 3 stone hone tool today as a lone- stones feel way to rough to use anyway and will probably end up doing more harm than good with this device I see).

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2571


Regards

[WhizzMan]

Those Austins didn't have up to 100 bhp out of a 1.3L engine. Also, they used more oil in a single kilometer than the local chippy on a Saturday night (slightly exaggerated for demonstrative purposes). There is no comparison between those engine designs, so unless I'm aiming form my rebuilt engine to have the same power as the Austin engine, I myself wouldn't use the tools and methods used to rebuild them.

[4v6]

One thing i learned from Guy very early on was that he say's what he means and he means what he say's.

If he tell's you to use the Flexhone method, it's because it's the very best method available to do the job correctly.
Having taken Guy's good advice myself to my advantage, i can only suggest that you move mountain's to comply with his instruction's regarding engine building and the preparation thereof otherwise you will end up disappointed with the end result's.
Flexhone's are not "fancy tool's", they're essential tool's to produce an end result that will give you the very best surface finish possible and enable you to produce an engine that will outlast and outperform other's done with "emery paper".

Follow Guy's advice to the letter and you won't go wrong.