a few months ago i tore down the motor to fix a cracked timing cover from an old "mechanic" "fix". work took over, had to move, and the truck got moved outside of the shop over the winter. now i finally have the time to finish it up (i quit my job, its amazing what you can get done when you aren't working 50+ hour weeks) and want to get it put back together this weekend. when i stopped the project the head was off so the bare metal on the block and cylinder walls has started to rust. it doesn't look very bad, but it is concerning. i figure a wire brush should remove the rust from the top of the block but i'm really concerned how to clean up the cylinder walls without damage. should i just throw a bit of oil into the cylinders and hope the rings free up from the walls, and let the piston clean up the walls? or any other ideas?

Al

 

Use a bottle brush style hone. Do not let the rings etc clean those walls up. They will never seat.

 

^^^ This.

 

hey Al: glad to hear you are still plugging away on the truck...

 

the rings don't need to seat, the block was not rebuilt. i only pulled the head to fix a cracked timing cover and fouled up spark plug threads.

it almost seemed to rub off with my finger, a friend suggested some steel wool and wd-40. i think that should work?



hey robb, yeah i finally am getting back to it. i got a rude awakening when i got the dmv letter about renewing the stickers in april. i ended up pulling the block yesterday. unfortunately i have to reinstall the timing cover as the chain shifted off half the bottom sproket and is pinched against the cover... doh! (that's originally why i lost motivation, but the move sealed its fate) but now with the block out i can put the head on easier and get the block and engine bay degreased to match the pretty shiney timing cover. i tell ya, fixing oil leaks was overrated apparently. i bet she looses 20 lbs of weight after i get all the crud cleaned off.

Al