SHO ford probe project

[probe_racer]

Did you go with something like this? Ball Hone

Yeah one like that just to do a light hone

 

[probe_racer]

this was a fun, productive sunday !!!

I got to honing all the cylinders in the engine. I used a flex hone, 89mm, 240 grit.

Did the standard clean work area, floor around, etc, etc. Then i got engine oil 10-30w to coat each cylinder and coated hone with it too everytime i did a cylinder.

cleaned each cylinder with shop paper towels (blue ones) to check for results, if not satisfied I repeated process above until satisfied.

here are some pics so u guys can see the results,





and close up



please note the pics are after i cleaned cylinders with lots of hot soapy water, terry cloths, transmission oil and more terry cloths, until cloths did not have any dirt and everything was dry, then i did a light coat of transmission oil at the end to make sure cylinders don't get all rusted.

as usual any comments are all welcome.

EDIT:

use old clothes or dedicated mechanics clothing when doing this the oil splatters all over and will ruin your church clothes...

 

[3d914]

That closeup looks great! It appears you achieved about the same angle as what was on there before. Thanks for including some details. I expect to be doing the very same thing this weekend or next.

What rings are you going with?

 

[probe_racer]

That closeup looks great! It appears you achieved about the same angle as what was on there before. Thanks for including some details. I expect to be doing the very same thing this weekend or next.

What rings are you going with?

I think im going with the ones from rockauto, brand DNJ i think. are there more options??

 

[3d914]

I think im going with the ones from rockauto, brand DNJ i think. are there more options??

I'm seriously looking at the Hastings cast iron rings. I like the level of support and information they provide surrounding their products. I also want to call and verify some details about the oil rings. One ring mfgr I came across indicated a choice of shallow vs deep oil ring for the SHO, but I can't find any other data that indicates different groove depths were available. I measured the groove depth on what look to be original stock pistons and the groove was 3.8mm (.15in).

Edit: Can't get the hastings in cast-iron, so I think I'll try the DNJ also.

 

[probe_racer]

another update

began to clean pistons...

before

after





BTW what does the big 23 imprinted on the piston top means??

 

[rubydist]

what a mess! good thing you decided to clean them all up!

 

[Off Road SHO]

How did you clean out the grooves? Piston Ring Groove Tool? It is very important that the ring grooves be free of ANY carbon buildup so that the ring can move in and out freely.

Tom

 

[probe_racer]

To clean the pistons i been using some simple methods, lets all remember this is still a budget build.

IF ANY OF YOU USE THIS METHOD BE SAFE, ALL THE CHEMICALS ARE BAD FOR YOU, DO NOT SKIP ON SAFETY AND DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU ARE CARELESS.


The tools are:

toothbrush
Broken old piston rings
lots of paper rags (blue ones)
some terry cloths
disposable rubber gloves
safety glasses.
plastic containers

And the Chemicals are:

water
wd-40
Brake cleaner
Berryman Chemical Dip (the big bucket it has a little handy built in drip tray)
Berryman B12 (two cans)

the way I do it is by cleaning the piston with paper rags to remove lose stuff, Then i put all the Berryman B12 in a little plastic container (big enough for piston to fit) and put piston upside down so the carbon gets soaked for 30 minutes. after that i do put the piston into the Chemical Dip and let it sit for about an hour in there. these two loosen and dissolve most of the crap off the piston and its groves, from there I use the toothbrush and the old broken piston rings to remove the carbon buildup which at this point is mostly sludge.

It is time consuming but it works, the gloves and glasses and other stuff used for protection from splashing of chemical is a must since stuff will splatter all over when brushing. After all this is done i use water to rinse them out one last time, dry with terry cloth, spray with brake cleaner and when that evaporates, spray with wd-40 so it does not flash rust, since its going to be a little while before i assemble everything again.

The piston tops where the valve reliefs are still have some carbon buildup. I'm thinking of using a brass bristled wheel and a dremel or drill to clean that off since the brass should not scrape the piston top.

:wave:

 

[3d914]

Nice work on the pistons. Found a used set to replace mine - so I'll try your same cleaning method.

Did you get your DNJ rings yet & how did they work?

 

[probe_racer]

Did you get your DNJ rings yet & how did they work?

I just ordered them this morning, when i get them i will post my impressions and other stuff.

Engine will be put together between this and next week, I already got new headgaskets and headbolts and all other stuff required to finish this 60k/engine refresh I'm doing.

Waiting on heads to be finished by machine shop (this week)

Clutch wise... well that is another story but it seems i will be doing stock pressure plate with a mazda 6 clutch disk so it works with my transmission and holds the power.

 

[probe_racer]

update i just got the piston rings delivered, and the heads are back from machine shop

assembly is about to begin.


:sun:

 

[probe_racer]

engine is assembled, intake is apart because i cleaned and did some porting and polishing...

now here is where the big question comes...

will aircraft remover be safe to remove the factory paint from the aluminum intake?

How long will it take to polish the whole intake??? I love the polished look but I have no clue how long it will take can someone tell me how long it took you guys??

Pics coming tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[probe_racer]

sooooo here are pics of engine stuff...


rebuild heads back on.


some gasket match porting.



some color



timing set

Oh and also, polish something on the engine.

Tom

Hmmmm......


Challenge accepted !!!



this spot took like 5 minutes or so to do.... I think I need some music to listen to, cause this is going to take a while

 

[intimdatr]

Dear god that motor is sexy.

 

[rbruso]

Hmmmm......


Challenge accepted !!!



this spot took like 5 minutes or so to do.... I think I need some music to listen to, cause this is going to take a while

Five minutes there = 45 minutes in the nightmarish folds and curves where they come together at the heads.

The runners are dead sexy when polished right, though!

 

[probe_racer]

yup I will need a few more buffing wheels because of those little areas... and a chair

 

[Off Road SHO]

And a lot of beer. I'm sure you already know this but wear a dust mask when polishing any metal, especially aluminum.

I use green bar compound I get from the jewelry making supply house. Also got the buffing wheels and the quick disconnect wheel holders there.

Tom

 

[rubydist]

my experience is its more like 5 minutes on the easy stuff = 5 hours on the hard areas...

 

[fdogg96]

Probe Racer.

Where in California are you based at? Have you check out the California SHO Club - SHOCal? We might have members near you who could help.

www.shocal.com

Are you on SCPOC? I know a few Probe owners there.