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Flex-Hone tool??? Does it work?

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A straight sided hone is used to square up the cylinder, and a flex hone is used to do the cross hatch for the rings to seat. The 2 things you have to remember with a flex hone are that 1) it won't square things up if they're out of round or beveled, and 2) It has to be moved rapidly up and down in the cylinder to get the best results.
 
The best use for the flex hone,as it relates to engine cylinder honing,is plateau honing. A typical scenario would be honing with rigid 280 grit stones which creates peaks and valleys in the cylinder wall's finish. The next typical procedure would be to use a 400 grit flex hone to sand the peaks down a bit to remove the peaks leaving flat surfaces/plateaus between the valleys. Without plateau honing,the peaks would be removed by the rings moving up and down,in the cylinders,during the initial start up process. Plateau honing produces instant ring seat without shrapnel. It is typical to do as few as 4 to 8 up and down strokes. The objective is to remove the peaks,create plateaus,and have valleys left over to hold oil.
 
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There are a couple styles of "Do it yourself" hones: Most common are the "Dingle-ball" hone, and the "Cat Whisker" type hone. Neither one is really a hone at all. They are considered cylinder de-glazers.

I see from your post, that Dave Husek built your engine. Dave is a reputable guy, Ask him what he thinks. He'll probably advise you to hone the cylinders on a honing machine with a torque plate.
 
turbodave231 said:
I see from your post, that Dave Husek built your engine. Dave is a reputable guy, Ask him what he thinks. He'll probably advise you to hone the cylinders on a honing machine with a torque plate.
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That is exactly what he said, but me being cheap and wanting to do things for my self and learn Has me looking for honing tools.
From talking to a lot of people that are in this game they don't always do everything by the book. A lot of low dollar junk has been going fast and lasting.
 
TURBOPOWERED68 said:
That is exactly what he said, but me being cheap and wanting to do things for my self and learn Has me looking for honing tools.
From talking to a lot of people that are in this game they don't always do everything by the book. A lot of low dollar junk has been going fast and lasting.
Click to expand...

I talk with turbo Buick owners almost every day about engines and hear many times about their grief, not only with low dollar junk, but issues with production shops that have not done their engine build properly. The most recent was yesterday.

Why would you think about honing and assembling a Buick short block in your garage when people like turbodave231 has the experience, knowledge and access to machines like a $50K hone and $90k machines to prep and machine the block, and also the "feel" that everything is perfect, not just OK, when assembling a short block? :confused:

"OK" can bite you in the ass after spending a few thousand $$$$.

I do admire you for wanting to learn and experience new areas, but critical things like a short block build, are best left to the known experts. :)
 
Unless you buy a dial bore gauge and a set of micrometers to measure the cylinders and pistons, you are taking a chance just honing it with a flex hone. If the bore is not perfectly round with no taper, the rings will not seat properly. You can use a solid 4 bladed hone with adjustable tension like a Sunnen, or a cheaper version made by Lisle with plenty of honing oil and the right stones. Then finish up with the flex hone. If there is a ridge in the cylinders, you need to use a ridge reamer. By then, the pistons may have too much clearance. I have done it many times when changing from cast to forged pistons which need more clearance, but nothing beats a fresh bore and hone with a deck plate done on the right machinery.
 
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If the foundation is not there it will bite you in the ass later on and if not sooner than you think .

Good luck in your rebuild
 
Ok more info.
Engine running great with NO symptoms.
Taking apart because of NOT piston related issues.
Normal blow-by, not smoking, cross hatch still intact, no ridge at top of cylinders, pistons popped right out.
I am Looking to go to a different piston ring.
That is the only reason why I am thinking about doing a quick hone.
Engine only has 12k miles.
I really appreciate all of you guys Taking your time to help me out.
 
Check for out of round and taper at least. I did a quick hone on a low mile engine and put new rings in only to have tons of blow by. Turned out some cylinders were way out of round even though they looked perfect and the cross hatch still looked good. I took it for granted that the cylinders were still good. You can get inexpensive micrometers and dial bore gauges made by Fowler very cheap on E-Bay. They are not professional machine shop quality for long life, but they are pretty accurate for a home garage.
 
It is going to the machine shop in the next couple days hopefully for a quick hone, check the deck and cam bearings.
So no hone tool for me at this time.
 
It may sound obvious, but Round rings seal best in round cylinders.

I think you will be glad you decided to take the block to a pro.

The Ring manufacturer's info is a great place to start. They often give great advice that often goes IGNORED by the machinist. They may specify important things like crosshatch angle and desired surface finish like Ra, Rz and Rpk.

Here is a quick checklist of the things that will help you get the best results. These might seem like overkill, but they are proven methods that produce consistent results.

  • Use of a deck plate
  • Use a head gasket with the torque plate
    • Use the same design gasket you intend to use when you assemble the engine (it doesn't need to be brand new) (I have a whole collection of used BV6 gaskets that I have accumulated just for this purpose)
  • Use of the bolts/studs you intend to use when you assemble the engine. (I have made steel spacers to accommodate darn near every Buick head/bolt/stud length)
  • Use of the proper lube on the bolts/studs (ARP lube if that what you use on assembly)
  • Follow the torque sequence when tightening the deck plate using the step method.
Good luck on your project! Post your new faster times on your signature after the rebuild!!
 
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