what special tools are needed for building an engine.. i know what most of them are but i will be building my own engine here soon and id like to see what everyone else thinks. pretty much the tools that are a MUST have.. also you know of any places that have them cheap? no snap on, im not building engines for a living. just this one.

 

About a month ago I was toying with the idea of making my own "poor mans" CTR motor. I started a thread to see what kinds of tools are needed and how much it would cost to buy all of them. In the first link g2turbo gave me a good suggestion. You can save money on tools by taking the block or parts to a machine shop. For example: instead of getting your own bore dial gauge, you can go to a machine shop and have them use their own bore dial gauge. Why buy a $500 measuring device that you'll only use a few times, when you can just take it to a machine shop and have them measure the part. That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1452062

also check out the evans tuning thread which is where I got my tools list from.

http://forums.evans-tuning.com...build

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueShadow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
1. Dial bore gauge
2. Rod stretch gauge tool
3. Micrometer
4. 3-4" machinist measurement tool
5. 2-3" machinist measurement tool
5. Plastic gauge
6. Torque wrench
7. Feeler gauges
8. Ring filer
9. Tap set
10. Ring compressor
</TD></TR></TABLE>

well i already have everything that is in bold. how can such simple tools cost so much.. there have to be some cheap ones out there.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike93eh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

well i already have everything that is in bold. how can such simple tools cost so much.. there have to be some cheap ones out there.</TD></TR></TABLE>
You get what you pay for. I personally like MAC CO. or Snap-on i'll rarely use craftsman, not that their a bad company. I just don't trust them on certain jobs

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike93eh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

well i already have everything that is in bold. how can such simple tools cost so much.. there have to be some cheap ones out there.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Did you see the other list I posted? I went to amazon.com in the tools section and I found different manufactureres for the tools and their prices for it.

dial bore gauge-fowler 6" ($80), summit 2-6" ($100), tavia 2-6" ($160)
rod stretch gauge-proform 2.75" ($60), summit ($70), ARP ($140)
micrometer-grizzly digital mic 0-1" ($70), mitutoyo digi mic ($95)
2-3" and 3-4" machinist measuring tool-take items needing measurements to a machine shop
plastigage-autozone
torque wrench-can I use a 0-150 ft/lb beam type torque wrench?
feeler gauges-got em already
ring filer-summit ($33)
tap set-summit 40 pc metric($20) and 40 pc SAE($20)
piston ring compressor-scissor type compressor $48 from Amazon
crank pulley holder-already have one
engine stand-$40 from Harbor Freight

 

ok those prices arent too bad then..

what about a cylinder hone, do i need to hone the cylinders when putting new pistons/rings in? will the ones at autozone work? the one you put in a drill.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bspec18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You get what you pay for. I personally like MAC CO. or Snap-on i'll rarely use craftsman, not that their a bad company. I just don't trust them on certain jobs</TD></TR></TABLE>

does craftsman even make these 'engine building' tools? if so that would be great because i love craftsman

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike93eh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok those prices arent too bad then..

what about a cylinder hone, do i need to hone the cylinders when putting new pistons/rings in? will the ones at autozone work? the one you put in a drill.</TD></TR></TABLE>

was doing some research on this subject yesterday. From what i've read those types of hones you are talking about are only good for giving the cylinder the crosshatch pattern. If the cylinder is out of round, thost DIY hones wont fix the out of round, they'll just crosshatch the cylinders. That's just what I read though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueShadow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> was doing some research on this subject yesterday. From what i've read those types of hones you are talking about are only good for giving the cylinder the crosshatch pattern. If the cylinder is out of round, thost DIY hones wont fix the out of round, they'll just crosshatch the cylinders. That's just what I read though.</TD></TR></TABLE>

so boring the cylinders are a must then? but i guess you check them to see if they are round first..

but anytime you have new rings, it needs a hone right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike93eh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

so boring the cylinders are a must then? but i guess you check them to see if they are round first..

but anytime you have new rings, it needs a hone right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

AFAIK when you get new rings you'll need to get a hone so that the rings will seat or break in properly. If the bore is out of round then *I think* you would have to bore it out slightly I'm not 100% sure though. Now how you know how much you bore it out (0.25, 0.5 or 1mm) I'm not sure.

 

well im in no hurry to build this engine.. just taking it slow and do it right. i have a good machine shop i goto, i dont think theyre all into building high hp honda engines though..

 

u guys should build dseries motors,

they're a blast, cost next to nothing, so you can experiment without worries about fecking up,
or u can use cheap tools or whatever.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">u guys should build dseries motors,

they're a blast, cost next to nothing, so you can experiment without worries about fecking up,
or u can use cheap tools or whatever.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats what im building, a z6... thats why i plan on doing it myself. i dont trust anyone else. i do everything myself. gives me some security.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike93eh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thats what im building, a z6... thats why i plan on doing it myself. i dont trust anyone else. i do everything myself. gives me some security.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yep, good plan,
and you'll learn so much too.

 

almost have every measuring device i need.. man i got this **** cheap. looking for a piston ring compressor...the scissor type plier ones. cant seem to find any. will those ones that use a hex key to tighten at sears work? theyre like less than $10. or will they break the rings?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike93eh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">almost have every measuring device i need.. man i got this **** cheap. looking for a piston ring compressor...the scissor type plier ones. cant seem to find any. will those ones that use a hex key to tighten at sears work? theyre like less than $10. or will they break the rings?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i got one to work before, but i would never use one again.

get the real deal tool for your own sake

 

where can you get the band type plier ring compressors for pretty cheap?

 

who said $500?? LOL

cheap tools have NEVER failed me yet

$7.49 for 2-3" , ive seen alot of name brand micrometers on ebay for about the same price but they were ancient looking and were probably not accurate anymore.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-2-3-IN...wItem

all i need now is a rod bolt stretch gauge.. cant find a cheap one.. but cant you just use a digital caliper??

almost ready to start building.