anybody used a ridge reamer lately?

[squirebill]

My question is as follow:  how far below the top of the block do the piston ring ridges form?  Or put another way: when the piston is at "Top Dead Center", how far is the top of the piston from the top of the block.  Knowing this I can measure from the top of the piston down to the top of the upper compression ring.  My situation is this:  I have a block that has been sleeved and  there is a small chip in one of the sleeves at the top of the cylinder.  I'm trying to determine if the upper ring comes up high enough to hit the area of the chip or will the ring be below the chip area.  Best regards  

[knuckleharley]

Wouldn't the simplest way to determine this be to remove that one rod and piston,and then measure it yourself?

 

The reason I say this is different pistons from different manufacturers may have the ring grooves at slightly different depths from the top of the piston. Measure the one you have and know exactly what you are dealing with.

 

Another method would be to measure the depth from the top of the block to the ridges in the other cylinders unless they have all been freshly bored.

Edited October 6, 2016 by knuckleharley

[squirebill]

I should have explained, the block is completely stripped of all components and has cylinder sleeves installed and therefore no ridges in the block but one cylinder sleeve does have a chip at the top.  Have the pistons and all the parts that go into the block including the crankshaft but no main bearing or connecting rod bearing shells.

[knuckleharley]

Ok,why can't you measure the distance from the top of the piston to the top of the ring,and then measure down that far from the top of the block to the chip to see if there is room?

Allowing a few thousands for "stretch",of course.

[Don Coatney]

The title of your thread suggest you have a cylinder ridge to ream. From your comments it sounds as if you need a replacement sleeve in one cylinder. Why not replace the sleeve and not worry about it.

[squirebill]

OK let me go farther.  The block I have came with a 1949 Plymouth Suburban I purchased. A few years ago the  engine had been removed and sent out for mag particle/magnafux inspection.  No cracks found and six new sleeves were installed in the cylinders, so no ridges now.  Engine was not rebuilt, that is what I am going to do.  So the block sat for a few years and has some slight surface rust.  As stated, one cylinder sleeve has a chip at the very top that runs about 3/8 in. around the circumference of the cylinder and about 3/16 to 1/4 in. down the cylinder from the top of the block.  Certainly, I can measure the piston from the top of piston down to the top of the upper compression ring. The dimension I am trying to determine is how far the upper compression ring is from the top of the block when the piston is at TDC. If it is below the depth of the chip then I can use the block as is.  If it is above the bottom edge of the chip I will have to consider alternatives.  Or, if some one can advise how far the top of piston is from the top of the block when at TDC. Is it flush or some distance below the top of the block?  So I was looking for someone who had recently used a ridge reamer who might be able to give me a guesstimate of how far down the bore the ridge was located.

[wayfarer]

That would have been good info to start with.

A 230 block that I have in the shop shows ring wear at about ¼" from the deck.

[dpollo]

Pistons on a 217/230 are flush with the deck at tdc..  You may get by with the chipped sleeve but what if it is fractured beyond what you can see ?  You would then be in for a catastrophic failure.  Go with Don's advice and have that bore re sleeved 

[DJ194950]

Per a conversation several years back with a motor rebuild shop that did a fair amount of older motors- a sleeve is not all that hard to replace or hard to find/expensive.

I agree with others-replace-No worries. Cheap to do compared to what you will spend on a good rebuild.

DJ

[Flatie46]

I don't know anything about the sleeving process but can a block be sleeved multiple times or will the block loose press fit on the sleeve?

[squirebill]

dpollo.....Pistons flush with deck at TDC....Thanks

[knuckleharley]

1 hour ago, Flatie46 said:

I don't know anything about the sleeving process but can a block be sleeved multiple times or will the block loose press fit on the sleeve?

AFAIK,there is no limit to how many times a block can be sleeved. The old sleeves are removed,the block is heated,the sleeve is frozen,and they are press-fit together.

[squirebill]

How are the old sleeves removed?  Do they have to be machined to be removed or can they be removed by a more manual process, using some sort of puller for example. In my case, I need one sleeve removed.  If it has to be machined to be removed and the bore in the block is enlarged do the sleeves come like bearing shells with various oversized outside diameters, .010 over,.020 over, etc

[Don Coatney]

Check with your local machine shop. They can best answer your questions.

[squirebill]

Yes....intend to go to my local machine shop to have the work done....large shop doing hundreds of engines a month.  Just asking the question on the forum to get some unbiased information/ opinions so I will be able to bounce it against what my local machine shop tells me to make sure they are not blowing smoke.

[DJ194950]

I would look for a older/established small output machine shop any day over a "production" shop. Talk with them about what you need and how they would do your repairs.

We only have one of the high production shops around here and they have had a very bad to OK reputation over time. Add/edit to add- they have been around for 40+ years mostly bad form older car owners.

I would never ever take a engine of mine to them!

Up to you-ask around for their results from older car owners.

DJ

Edited October 8, 2016 by DJ194950
add info