my b16a2 has just under 29,000 mile on the engine, and the compression is 190 accross all 4 cycl. my question is, i if i get je 9-1 pistons with rings, will i need to hone the cyclinders before i drop them in. if so, will a mechanic have to do it or can i do it myself (i am very mechanically inclined), or does it need a special crosshatch? thanks!

 

personally I would run a flex-hone through there just to get a fresh crosshatch, measure the bore to ensure it is in spec and not out-of-round, then drop the slugs in.

 

what is a flex hone, is this a hone that goes into a cordless drill, and do i just do it lightly until i can see that ive got a new crosshatch, oh ya and what grit hone.

 

Yea. he may be referring to a ball-type hone which is supposed to be easier to use, or something. It has a bunch of round stones on the ends of wire instead of the three flat stones attached to springs. I would use the grit of the stones that they sell at the parts store. I think they use relatively fine grit with newer engines, as in honda's. Hone the cylinders per the instructions, just enough to get that good 60 degree crosshatch going. If you trust any local shops some places will do it for relatively cheap, it might be worth it especially if they have a good honing machine and use a plate bolted to the block to simulate the distortion caused by the cylinder head. Other than that, make sure you measure the cylinder bores for out of round and taper from top to bottom. And clean everything make sure you wear one of those suits the guys from intel wear when they are assembling silicon chips. any other info im sure is on the internet. might as well check the bearings, or go with some eagle rods while you're at it if your wallet allows. good luck

note: to answer your question, honestly i don't know what would happen, but if you don't hone the cyl walls before putting new rings in (or setting ring gap, clocking them correctly, ..) you may risk having them not seat right and losing compression / causing blowby.

 

without a fresh hone, your new rings will not seat, I would only use the flex-hone type personally, but many others use the 3 stone type, I find the flex-hone easier to use and leaves a great crosshatch without removing much material, Make sure you get a 400 grit if you go.

 

if your mechanically inclined i would take it to the shop..
and it should be done so the rings will seat in fine..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by racin_jayson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">without a fresh hone, your new rings will not seat, I would only use the flex-hone type personally, but many others use the 3 stone type, I find the flex-hone easier to use and leaves a great crosshatch without removing much material, Make sure you get a 400 grit if you go. </TD></TR></TABLE>

where can you get the flex-hone in 400 grit? ive been searching for the past hour...

 

When you take it apart, see how the walls look,,sometimes it still looks like a fresh hone from when it was built