i bought new pistons and rings so i need to hone the cylinders to put them in and i was wondering if i need to remove the crank to hone the cylinders. If i don't need to remove the crank then what precautions should I take so i don't damage anything. The engine in still in the car so if there is anyway to do this without taking the engine out that would be great.

 

Even if you could prevent the honing stones from touching/damaging the crank, I'm not sure how you could prevent metal dust from falling on the crank journals. It would be a nightmare trying to clean the block after honing it.
I think the crank, at the very least, has to come out.

 

wow that sucks. i don't suppose there's a way to do that without taking the engine out of the vehicle.

 

I honed my engine while it was on the car. The motor is still running. It's all about the prep work.

 

^ Crank wasn't removed?
What sort of prep work did you employ?
I think that's the sort of detail the OP is looking for.

 

Get a honing tool from matco or snapon.

Get a good drill and lube up your cyl walls with motor oil or WD40 and go up and down in a smooth, but steady motion, allowing for the rough up of the cyl walls.

I find 20-30 seconds per cyl wall is a nice time to spend honing out.. After your done, spray some wd40 again and clean the walls nice and neat...removing all of the honing mess.

I've personally used this method on cars that have came to me and do not wish to be bored out, just rehoned, and we also use this method here @ porsche / audi for rebuilds.