as the topic title says really.

i know that the block should be honed when fitting new piston rings, however, it's an all about cost at the moment.
basically, i'm just looking for people's opinions on it.......

 

I have done it a few times before due to money issues.... Never had an issue with it.. Although you can hone it yourself with just a Ball hone and call it a day. I think they are about $20.00

 

A new dingleberry (ball hone) is around 60-80 bucks and well worth it.

If your block still shows factory hone marks then new rings should be fine without rehoning. If you have access to a ball hone its worth running it through a few times just follow correct way to do it.
I am not an expert but this is the advice I would give myself and friends.

Its more important that the rings are installed in correct order and alignment and gapped.
Just make sure to warm engine up to temp and have a good enough tune to get on it right afterwards to seat the rings and allow them to file in correctly.

Again just my suggestion take it for what it is and do more research.

 

Definitely get it honed. The $60 U spend on the hone or $40 at a machine shop is WELL WORTH not having to tear down a block and put in new rod bearings, piston rings, and headgasket- plus time. Like sauceja said, make sure the rings are in the correct orientation and they are gapped to spec. It's also better to have them overgapped instead of undergapped b/c of heat expansion. I'd recommend not overgapping them on purpose, but over is better than under IMO.

 

Common practice at the dealership ...VW that is. Rod bearings on a 2.0L in ~6hours

 

exactly what i'm doing now ; ) many thanks guys.

 

oversized hone or std?

 

With a ball hone, it doesn't matter...as long as it makes firm contact with the cylinder wall.

 

Yeah, just run a ball-hone thru there. Just don't knick the crank and keep things CLEAN. Wont do you much good if those bearing end up with iron dust in them