SHO ford probe project

[probe_racer]

Soooo after much debating i took off the heads cause this engine has been sitting for a little bit over 2 years, when i did the rod bearing i did notice some oil coming out of a spark plug hole.....

so here is what i found.

first for reference

on this picture you see cylinder 1





and the head corresponding to it which cylinder from left to right 3 2 1



and the rear bank of cylinders from left to right 3 2 1



and the piston from cylinder 1






also for front cylinders



and both heads



soo what do you guys think?? i think its weird that only that piston/cylinder shows that much oil, the other cylinders have oil too but not as much, so im thinking of soaking the piston assembly on cleaner to make sure rings are clean and not sticking, and well since im already doing this, i might as well do the same with all the other ones and clean them too.

any opinions ??? does it seem engine was running good/lean/rich? should i do something else??

thanks for your time

 

[Off Road SHO]

Yeah,

You should have a complete valve job done, the cylinders checked for too much taper and if they are within specs, ball hone the cylinders and new rings.

Oh and also, polish something on the engine.

Tom

 

[rubydist]

at least the rings are not completely stuck - I have taken some apart where the rings don't move at all.

you need to soak in parts cleaner until you can get the rings off, and clean up pistons, rings, cylinders, etc.

pay attention to the rings, there is a top side and a bottom side to both compression rings and you don't want them upside down when you reassemble.

 

[probe_racer]

i think only the bottom control ring is kinda stuck the upper 2 move fine

does anyone still sell the piston rings?? autozone and o'reilly dont have them anymore...

i will post more pics as i go through this before i put everything in car.

 

[probe_racer]

Yeah,

You should have a complete valve job done, the cylinders checked for too much taper and if they are within specs, ball hone the cylinders and new rings.

Oh and also, polish something on the engine.

Tom

valve job will be done...... after i finish the porting and polishing of the heads :angelnot: which is not taking as long as i though now that im using dremels and die grinders

 

[rubydist]

rockauto has rings.

if the rings are looking good once cleaned up, you might use the factory ones and just hone the cylinders a little as Tom suggested.

 

[probe_racer]

getting ready to hone the cylinders i think a ball hone will be the best choice for this engine, it still has the factory cross marks and very little wear, so im guessing a light hone will work.

i was thinking of using the hone oreilly rents but those are the square stone ones and i feel they are harder to use and get good results.

only 2 of the pistons had the oil control rings kinda stuck so all pistons are going in cleaner soon.

 

[probe_racer]

here is a pic of cylinders ready to get light hone on them.


cylinder 1


cylinder 2


cylinder 3


cylinder 4


cylinder 5


cylinder 6


i will use a ball hone and will add new piston rings. everything should be here by next week or so.

any input as always is very very welcome

 

[rubydist]

make sure you check and (if necessary) set the ring gaps on the new rings. you do not want the ring gap too tight.

 

[probe_racer]

update i just checked the gap with the rings on each cylinder that they were in and it showed amazingly the following numbers both standard and metric in the cylinders.

.019 or .020 inch
.483 or .508 mm

 

[3d914]

update i just checked the gap with the rings on each cylinder that they were in and it showed amazingly the following numbers both standard and metric in the cylinders.

.019 or .020 inch
.483 or .508 mm

Thanks for all the details and pics. Looks similar to where I'm at on my motor. Are the numbers you measured in or out of spec?

 

[probe_racer]

posting from cell phone..

the measurement i believe is out of spec. to me it seems the gap is quite big anyways.

 

[rubydist]

Factory ring gap spec:

Top Ring .012-.018"

2nd Ring .018-.024"

per Ford service manual

 

[probe_racer]

i guess the ring is not that bad then. i will be adding new rings anyways since im honing the cylinders so everything is nice.

 

[3d914]

i guess the ring is not that bad then. i will be adding new rings anyways since im honing the cylinders so everything is nice.

Is there a preferred brand of rings for SHO? I'm familiar with Mahle and Hastings.

 

[AREA 91]

Those cylinder's look pretty good. I would not hone it at all.

 

[rubydist]

I would do a very light hone - there is a shiny spot where nearly all the cross-hatching is worn away in the center of the stroke - typically this will be on both sides of the cylinder perpendicular to the wrist pin. you need some cross-hatching for proper oil control.

 

[probe_racer]

Got a ball hone today I will be doing a light hone to have a new surface for new rings to seal, will be posting pics soon. Hopefully within a week or so. This thing is taking foreva ! Lol

 

[3d914]

Got a ball hone today I will be doing a light hone to have a new surface for new rings to seal, will be posting pics soon. Hopefully within a week or so. This thing is taking foreva ! Lol

Did you go with something like this? Ball Hone

 

[platoribs]

Alternatively:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#ball-hones/=lv3wku

Or
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/ww...l+hone?Ndr=textsearchesinbase+true&sst=subset

The amazon parts are cheaper though...