How To: HONE AN ENGINE CYLINDER 

I used to work in a machine shop, and the honing machine was $30,000+, we used various grit stones, parallel guides on the hone head, absolutely flooded the cylinders with oil, we could measure the load while honing. We would careful set the stroke speed and length to set the cross hatch angles.. it was all very technical. We would bolt on a torque plate with a gasket to simulate the distortion that torqued head bolts impose, and at the end of the day, we only charged $160 to hone a V8 engine! It was the best bargain out there! Who knew we could have just used a Leslie auto parts hone with a squirt of WD40 and saved all that money and floor space!

Am currently rebuilding an 86 OMC 3.0 marine engine that had a seized cylinder. Have been watching a ton of vids on DIY honing,and this one was excellent. Great clear instructions and easy to follow. Awesome 👏

Nice clear video, thanks for taking the time to make it 👍 feel more confident at doing mine now.

Great video man went through every step in detail. Love it 👍

Interesting insight! I had this done to a Morris Minor engine back in early 1976 as it was burning serious amounts of oil. I think we went up +0.020". Got the engine back but noticed it was full of grinding grit so after putting an old carpet into the bath, gave the block a good washing followed by thorough drying and oiling waiting for reassembly. The engine ran really well for about 35k miles and then the pistons seemed kind of triangular so swapped out for another slightly bigger cc engine. Fun while it lasted!

This is the kinda videos I love👌 keep them coming

I like how you explain things. Keep working hard mate

Im Engine Fitter.. and IT goes trough and in direct..perfect spoken language..You are always welcome in CPH.. even thou you guys burned IT down in 1807...

I'm about to do this to my minibike cylinder, thank you for the instructional mate

You sir...... Deserve more subscribers. Great videos

Like that one Nick, nice refresher for me in spring, its been a long time since i did any honing, in fact it it was a MK2 Escort 1600 Sport lol 😂 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Excellent job

I love your style of talking

Thank you for sharing your knowledge ive learnt alot from that video 👍

Great explanation

i hope you will film the rest of the process for us lot!

Brilliant content as usual

I find a nice way of measuring cylinder walls using the old piston rings and a feeler. Your method is better as your getting a more accurate measurement. I will try it this way next time new tool added to the list !!

It was your first vídeo that i see. It was great keep the good work

Epic informative vid again bro keep it up ... loving the content ❤️

I'm loving your work! Deglassing my cyl bores with a bog brush tomorrow, I hope a rebore is not needed,

Awesome as always..you make it all look easy..

Class video, really interesting 👍👍👍

Thanks too much for your good explanation

Nice video! Thank you.

Every time I watch a video on this fine channel I have spent time translating it into English. But just like a comic book I can follow the pictures.

I'm now fully aware That I shouldn't be scared Boring and honing my engine Is an easy decision And minor wear is an easy repair

Just for this honing vid.. you have a new subscriber mate! Nice vid!

Thanks Mate. Great video!!

Good video, very interesting. What size grit are the stones you're using?

Brilliant educational video. Very informative and clearly understood. If I may, can I call upon your engineering skills to answer one question. I'm not a mechanic or someone who's experienced in a machine shop, just someone who's got a passion for rebuilding car engines. I'm trying to rebuild a 1.7cc diesel engine (117,000 miles) and I measured the old piston ring gap with feeler gauges in the bore. The clearances wasn't excessive, just 0.35 instead of the recommended, Haynes manual opening of 0.20-0.30mm. So given the fact I intend to keep this family car for a few more years, I followed the advice of the book and invested in a new set (x4 pistons) standard piston rings. I'm a little bit disappointed because some of the gaps are worst than the old rings. In an ideal world with unlimited resources, yes a re-bore with oversize piston would be perfect. But with the car nearly 10 years old and me having a limited budget, my question is this. After copying your feeling and sight examination and not noticing any conceivable wear in the bores. Would it be a good idea to ask the shop to swop the standard rings for slightly oversize rings (say + 0.25mm) and try and fit them to standard pistons? And after a light honing (file if need be) try and get the exact gap clearance(s). Many thanks in advance for your (or anybody's) advice, bye for now, Barry (Chester UK).

i use a 240 grit silicone carbide flex hone, then knock down the high spots with a stiff nylon brush or a bore brush. if the cylinder is tight to turn the flywheel by hand, its gonna be hard on those rings!

Well explained video 👍

Yesyesyes awesome timing on this one mate! Thanks for the knowledge

great info thanks

Nice informative video. A few years back I borrowed a Mitutoyo surface roughness tester and spent a day playing around with different hones and techniques to get the best surface to bed rings in. Most of the testing focused around plateau honing. Will just say that I switched from a three prong as it was too rough and moved to two different grade flexihones with their own lube. I hate this term but it was a game changer for my builds.

Great video, could you do a video guide to the measuring equipment you use and rough costs. Thanks

Nice video and explications.can you share a link for the hone tool used plz ? Which grind do you use ?

Great video, new sub here! Thanks for putting this vid together :). Cheers!

Hi, Great help on this video, I am doing rings on my Zuky and borrowed a hone carbide brush from a machine shop, He told me I don't have to worry how much I use it, and I tried to get a cross-hatch but its more flat, Should I do it again? and if so, I need to remeasure for rings? Oh, and what grit do you use?

Great video, many thanks. Did you reverse the hone direction as well as forward?

Good video but at 12:30 the drill speed during honing was way too fast. 12:50 shows you have a 10-15 degree crosshatch pattern but you really want 45 degrees. Slower drill, quicker drop & raise.

Great video

What stone number are you using Also do you have to polish new hone? How do you know when to polish or not

EXCELLENT !! Ty

Brilliant video and explanation. Thanks!

Is that an old Escort valve cover in the background? That's cool as hell! Edit: Ha! I didn't even notice the hoodie until later. Very cool.

Great work, really enjoyed it and definitely will not be doing this ourself hahaha!

Thank you

Thanks brother all the way from Tennessee. I'm rebuilding my first engine and I'm both confident a nervous at the same time. If that makes sense. Anyway I've built lawnmower engines a few times and now I need more power for a s10. Wish me luck. New sub

Great video but you forgot one importen thing, what course on the honing stones? I mean on a job like you just described, should I use 120, 180 or 240?

The hone tool looks quite small are they only a small diameter engine/long stroker those?

Total Seal Piston Rings, have some great videos on Honing Bores.... A very inportant topic/procedure these days...

Nice video. Congratulations. Very instructive. One question, how do you get the right angle for the crosshatch? I believe it cannot be too shallow nor too vertical.

The brush is shinning and new and not contaminated yet. The crank and bearings will be protected from any splatter

What are your cutting stone grits? One grit only?

Cool video! Really enjoyed that! And especially loved that hoodie! 😂 loving the progress can’t wait for the next one! Hopefully it won’t be to long!

What's your opinion on re-using conrod bearing cap bolts? I've the pistons out of a v6 audi 80. Can they be reused or is it too dodge? Thanks for this video I have one of those triple stone honing tools ordered from an Irish garage supplier

Great Video. Liked and Subd

Very clever indeed. Can’t believe this hasn’t been your day job Nick. You haven’t learnt all that working at Tesco’s 🤣

top video!

Hi there buddy I'm from South Africa, thank you for an informative video however i need your expertise I'm doing my mazda b series f8 engine 1800 ,i noticed the ridge top of cylinder what should I do ,it's the first time engine being done since factory the ridge is slight appreciate any help thank you

Nicely done, even a Yank can understand that! I need a bore gauge......I put in new rings 2 years ago and put 100 miles on it and the blowby is laughable. I didnt hone the cylinders...:-( Back in there this weekend....

So I have been honing with the exact same tool you were using but I am getting a strange pattern. I am getting the good x shape crosshatches ataround 30 40 degrees but I am also getting a strange pattern like little squares in a column. I am using penatrating oil for lubricant, I clean my stones each time, I have also tried using brake clean as a lubricant and I get the same result. Any pointers would be appreciated

What if you dont get the stains out the cylinder but still nice smooth

Sir...can use desel engine.tq

I think this is fine somehow for a diy or low budget But I would make it with cnc of course

Pro 😎😎😎

How do you clean after you do the hone? So far I've seen brake clean in the cyclinder bore. Do you have to completely clean the engine after a hone job like this?

hello there, nice vid. Do you run both way with the drill or just one way?

I have a tiny gash in the middle of my cylinder wall that I'm home now and there's still a little indentation how bad does that have to be before it cannot be used

Probably a stupid question, but how much is it safe to hone cylinder walls before i need to look into buying bigger pistons? Or do I always need to change them no matter how little I hone the walls? Maybe it is said in the video, but I have a very short attention span lol

can i reuse my pistons and piston rings after honing?

What happened when cylinder out?

Think the pumping action when honing should be a bit more, makes the cross hatch a bit better... and i do left hand wd40 👍

How many passes do you do with the honing stone?

How do you know what yo get for new rod bearings and main bearings. Measure the old bearings so i can buy new ones

After this do you have to use bigger piston?

Watched it to the end so there. It was good. I think you like Eminem with the hat backwards and all the hand gesturing. Do you..?

*Nice instructions now I'm gonna Hone my wife*

Hello experts, My mechanic changed my top cylinder on my car toyota corolla 09 model due to a sound at the top cylinder. Note: that was the only issue my car had before I took it to him. Unfortunately, after the completion, I went to pick it up and in a 5 minutes drive away from the workshop, the car started misfiring and overheating. Eventually, the car couldn't start anymore and the mechanic went ahead and ringed my engine that there's low compression. I told him he spoilt my engine because it was in a good condition before I took it to him apart from the sound at the top cylinder. Please, what do you think caused that? He changed the top gasket as well. Your expert feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

is this same for diesel or petrol oil engines ????

What oil do you recommend to settle the engine, synthetic, semi-synthetic or mineral?

How did this engine turn out?

Glad to see Johnny sins has other hobbies

Sir how we known that we do write cross hatch pattern

Where? Wear? Weir? 🤣💯🤘

carressing the pistons? 3:20

OLÁ. Ao usar o "Intramess" o lado da sapata serve como centralizador do instrumento e auxilia encontrar a posição (180º) com o movimento do lado oposto observando o ponteiro do relógio. O "Brunimento" de cilindro com furadeira deve ser feito por "artistas" e não por mecânicos nem por retificadores. Eu continuo "vivendo e aprendendo" com muito cuidado para não desaprender. ABRAÇOS... Roberto Udo Krapf

Be mindful, and be aware of the wear; ultimately beware.

Is it bad to hone the cylinder walls with the crankshaft still assembled underneath?

The 5 W’s: Wear Wear Wear Wear Wear

Straightaway x 1000! 😂

Why did you need to rebuild this engine ? Seems there is nothing wrong with the cylinders ? Is it burning oil ?

What was the difference in measurements after?

220 grit or what?

Where?

Roses are red Violets are blue The reason you're here is at 12:22

I was wondering why his numbers were melting my brain . Ummmm he is doing MM . Im use to thousandths of an inch 😂.

Be wear aware at the lip there.