What's wrong with just a hone and new bearings?

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Vamisk

Vamisk

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So as some of you may know i once bought a 383 that had seized. Today i went back and looked at the oil pickup which was covered in assembly lube. Maybe that was the root cause?

Anyway i'm not keen on boring this thing out a million over, what's the worst that will happen if i just hone it and throw some stocker pistons in there with fresh bearings and call it a day?
The rings on the seized piston are still springy so i doubt much damage was caused to the cylinder walls.
Honestly i just want an engine for driving on the road, not trying to build some race gas-sucking monster with more chrome then iron.
 
Was the main and rod bearings damaged? Was it only a stuck piston?
If the bores are still round, no excessive taper, and a hone job is enough to restore the cylinder wall finish, then there is nothing at all wrong with simply honing the cylinders.
If the bores are not round any more, or too much taper, it may have a little excess leakdown or oil consumption.
 
I would replace the oil pump at the very least.
Easy enough to check the bores.
Its a matter of how much damage is in the bad cylinder.
 
Well there was one set of mains missing and shards of metal in the particular cylinder that seized. I cleaned it out with diesel fuel and can't find any cracks with a light. I'm going to get both the crank and block magnafluxed but i don't want them to be held hostage by a machine shop that just wants to bore it out.

Taper can be measured with a bore gauge correct?
 
If the engine had seized, then I would measure the bores to make sure they are not distorted/enlarged...

On an engine that's running, a quick hone with fresh rings and bearings is not a bad idea...
 
I learned a long time ago - don't put new bearings on an old crank. Not without some very careful inspection anyway. Personally, it's not worth it to me to gamble those anymore. $300 gets a crank turned and new bearings. Stupid to not do it in my opinion because the gaskets, seals, chemicals, paint, and time all add up to way past that. Rings - you can put new rings on a rusty bore. It won't work for very long, but it might work for a little while. So it's all really up to what you're comfy with.
With prices for 383s in the dumper - why not find a running engine and just use that?
 
moper said:
I learned a long time ago - don't put new bearings on an old crank. Not without some very careful inspection anyway. Personally, it's not worth it to me to gamble those anymore. $300 gets a crank turned and new bearings. Stupid to not do it in my opinion because the gaskets, seals, chemicals, paint, and time all add up to way past that. Rings - you can put new rings on a rusty bore. It won't work for very long, but it might work for a little while. So it's all really up to what you're comfy with.
With prices for 383s in the dumper - why not find a running engine and just use that?
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Money is tight, If i could go through life without buying another 383 it will be too soon and if this block is wasted i'll probably just find a 360.
 
Determine what stopped the engine from turning, and go from there, if it oil starved, then at minimum it will need cam bearings, and a crank polish.
 
Vamisk said:
Money is tight, If i could go through life without buying another 383 it will be too soon and if this block is wasted i'll probably just find a 360.
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Now that freaks me out a bit when put together with the statement "one set of mains gone"
 
Main bearings i mean. I once got a metal splinter from cylinder 5 which is how i found out it was the one that seized.
I suspect this was a drag motor and i had a couple bent pushrods and the connecting rod for piston 5 was slightly bent.
It wasn't a catastrophic seize but it seized nonetheless.

Maybe someone upstairs had mercy on me because i was able to get a 8.74, axles and backing plates for $350.
 
Bent connecting rod, sounds like you have a parts motor.
 
I still don't understand. The piston seized in the bore or the rod seized on the crank?
 
I've had great luck doing rings and bearings as long as the cylinders are decent. I hand polish the cranks if they aren't toast. If the cylinders are really good I've never seen an advantage of a fresh bore. Not even at the strip.
 
IQ52 said:
I still don't understand. The piston seized in the bore or the rod seized on the crank?
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I'm not sure, i bought it post-seize. Naturally the craigslist ad never mentioned any sort of problems.
For what it's worth the rings aren't stuck.

sireland67 said:
Bent connecting rod, sounds like you have a parts motor.
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Why exactly is that? My only concern is the block, i can get another crank but a block is a pain in the *** to acquire.

This is the offending piston.

WP_20170331_002.jpg
 
moper said:
I learned a long time ago - don't put new bearings on an old crank. Not without some very careful inspection anyway. Personally, it's not worth it to me to gamble those anymore. $300 gets a crank turned and new bearings. Stupid to not do it in my opinion because the gaskets, seals, chemicals, paint, and time all add up to way past that. Rings - you can put new rings on a rusty bore. It won't work for very long, but it might work for a little while. So it's all really up to what you're comfy with.
With prices for 383s in the dumper - why not find a running engine and just use that?
Click to expand...

I refreshed a 318 twice with new bearings and rings with std bore and ran it to 500,000.. Never turned the crank.... Daily driver, not a race car...
 
d55dave said:
Did those bent pushrods come out of it? Possible bent a pushrod and popped a lifter out then lost oil pressure.....
Click to expand...
FABO came to that conclusion when i made my original thread asking what happened to cause it to seize. I was going to chuck the valvetrain and get a new one anyway.
As long as there isn't a hole in the cylinder wall and the cylinders aren't tapered i intend to use the block as is.
 
No way we can know over the internet, without REALLY GOOD DETAILED pictures of every cylinder and every piston from all sides. You're basically asking a question that is impossible to answer without seeing the thing in person.

This is why you PAY a machine shop to give you their expertise. That's what I recommend.
 
I was going to take it to a machine shop anyway. My question is why does every jump to "bore it out" any time a rebuild is mentioned. Whenever i say i just want to hone it out and run it as is people tell me it'll just explode. I thought maybe you guys new something i didn't when it comes to rebuilds. (of course you do)
 
Unless you have to hit some specific displacement for a class or whatever, just make it to a size you can get decent pistons and rings, gaskets, etc.

A little bit of planning before you start moving metal goes a really, really long way towards creating a successful build. S/F....Ken M
 
Vamisk said:
I was going to take it to a machine shop anyway. My question is why does every jump to "bore it out" any time a rebuild is mentioned. Whenever i say i just want to hone it out and run it as is people tell me it'll just explode. I thought maybe you guys new something i didn't when it comes to rebuilds. (of course you do)
Click to expand...

As long as the cylinders check out for bore size, roundness, taper and physical damage, hone away. Some of the best engines I have ever built have been a dirt road build just honed and assembled. However, doing it CORRECTLY requires the block to be in VERY good condition and that's rare with a used block. It happens, but it;s not as common as you think. THAT is why people jump on the bore band wagon. Who wants to be responsible for giving someone advice that might not be good?

But, then again, all the advice around here is worth exactly what you pay for it.
 
Yup, that's pretty offensive.

Vamisk said:
I'm not sure, i bought it post-seize. Naturally the craigslist ad never mentioned any sort of problems.
For what it's worth the rings aren't stuck.


Why exactly is that? My only concern is the block, i can get another crank but a block is a pain in the *** to acquire.

This is the offending piston.

View attachment 1715166687
Click to expand...
 
F it, hone and go! How many times did we do that in high school with beer money? Plenty and it got us though the next semester...
 
RustyRatRod said:
As long as the cylinders check out for bore size, roundness, taper and physical damage, hone away. Some of the best engines I have ever built have been a dirt road build just honed and assembled. However, doing it CORRECTLY requires the block to be in VERY good condition and that's rare with a used block. It happens, but it;s not as common as you think. THAT is why people jump on the bore band wagon. Who wants to be responsible for giving someone advice that might not be good?

But, then again, all the advice around here is worth exactly what you pay for it.
Click to expand...

I get what you're saying. I don't think it's worth sleeving a wasted 383 either so i may just have to find another engine. If that's the case i'll probably just get a 400 and be done with it.
 
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