how to fly cut pistons?
TTT
I would like to know also, been doing lots of research lately and have yet to find a good writeup on flycutting step by step......just wanna know what Im getting myself into....
I would like to know also, been doing lots of research lately and have yet to find a good writeup on flycutting step by step......just wanna know what Im getting myself into....
There were instructions around here but who knows if they're still around. There may be some on the Isky website because they sell the tool. The basics are that you'll need a junk head that you can cut the seats out of so the tool will go far enough up into the head that the head will sit flat on the motor. You'll probably also want a junk head gasket so the head doesn't scratch the block surface. Your flycutting tool should have a locking collar. Start by bringing the piston you're working on to top dead center to maintain the proper angle and cut at the pistons closest point to the head. Then you'll want to put the head and gasket on the block. Next, let the tool down until it rests on the piston. Then measure and raise the collar to the amount of the desired cut. Lock the collar tight and then drill down until the collar bottoms out. Remove the head, clean out the shavings, move the tool to the next valve to be cut, and repeat.
That about covers it. The two rules to live by are "measure twice, cut once" and "cleanliness is godliness" because you don't want to mess up the depth of the cut and you want to get the shavings out after the cuts.
That about covers it. The two rules to live by are "measure twice, cut once" and "cleanliness is godliness" because you don't want to mess up the depth of the cut and you want to get the shavings out after the cuts.
We use the ISKY tool. We cut the top of the tool to fit the stock heads. Pull all the valves out of one head, install the tool so it sits in the valve seat. Drop the tool down till it hits the piston, making sure that the piston is at top dead center, and measure from the head to the top of the stem. Do your cutting a little at a time while measureing how much you have cut ot of the piston. After piston has been cut, place clay on the top of the piston where you have cut. Take your fully assembled head and mock up the installed head with rocker arms, push rods and old head gasket, already crushed. Rotate the motor, remove assembly. Take a razor cut the clay down the middle, check clay for the clearance. Not enough, cut a little more. If good move on to the next piston.
Hope that this gives you guys a starting idea about fly cutting pistons.
Chad
Hope that this gives you guys a starting idea about fly cutting pistons.
Chad
Originally Posted by My90Iroc
The two rules to live by are "measure twice, cut once" and "cleanliness is godliness"
Torque the crank bolt till it breaks, then back off a quarter turn.
Why loctite now when we could wait till after its all togather and have to do it again.
The bellhousing can be used as a wiring harness retaining clip.
Its a good idea to weld the header, Y pipe, and exhaust all togather, for easy removal.
And a game of Intake port russian roulette. (intake valve open or closed when I dropped that?)
Granted most of those were my fault...
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From: BFE
Originally Posted by Kraest
I wouldn't advise doing that with no previous experience.
You can SERIOUSLY **** something up like that.
You can SERIOUSLY **** something up like that.
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Originally Posted by GuitsBoy
I flycut my motor without prior experience and it came out just fine...
Oh, and just to rub it in, I made my own flycutting tools from scratch too.
Oh, and just to rub it in, I made my own flycutting tools from scratch too.
Here is a pic of when I cut mine... I used the Isky tool...
the write up a saw a while ago showed how to keep the eng. clean while doin this. use duct tape across all the blocks deck surface except the piston to be cut. use a vacuum cleaner to suck out the alum. shavings BEFORE you remove the head after cutting. this will remove most of the chips before they get a chance to go anywhere you dont want them. the only problem I see with this that dont remember how they got around in the write up is that the cutter will be blocking most of the valve hole in the port blocking from vac. out all the metal shavings.
Originally Posted by Irocss85
the write up a saw a while ago showed how to keep the eng. clean while doin this. use duct tape across all the blocks deck surface except the piston to be cut. use a vacuum cleaner to suck out the alum. shavings BEFORE you remove the head after cutting. this will remove most of the chips before they get a chance to go anywhere you dont want them. the only problem I see with this that dont remember how they got around in the write up is that the cutter will be blocking most of the valve hole in the port blocking from vac. out all the metal shavings.
I rented the tool from LGM.. It was my first time also.. Your going to need a bendable adapter to hook the drill to the valve for the back pistons, as you cant get the drill up under there..
Also, as mentioned above with the duct tape. I did the exact same thing, but, I put the old head gasket on the dowel pins and just removed the head and all my shavings were on top of the duct tape, but sitting inside the ID (Inside Diameter) of the gasket and just vaccumed it up.. Of coarse, I removed the head alot and used a micrometer that I picked up at autozone to measure the depth of the cut.. Pretty straight forward and was ALOT easier then what I thought.. I would do it again in a heart beat if I had too..
One more thing too, if you do flycutt, get some fine sand paper and sand down the lip on the cut as well...
You have plenty of info given here. It's the same way we did it to mine. Guys, this is MUCH easier than a cam swap, and total n00bs do cam swaps with LS1howto instructions. It's not the big dangerous thing I thought it was.
And no angle adapter needed if you just pull the motor. That way you can stick some stronger rod bolts in and spin that sucker!
And no angle adapter needed if you just pull the motor. That way you can stick some stronger rod bolts in and spin that sucker!
Anyone in the eastern pa area willing to 'mentor' me while doing this? I'm pulling the heads to have some header bolt holes repaired (broke one bolt and stripped two others) and I'd like to go with 0.040" cometics, but am concerned with PtoV clearance. I'll know better when I pull the head and figure out how much they've been milled.
Flycutting the pistons might be a option, but I'd like to have someone looking over my shoulder who has done it once or twice.
I'm in Bucks county PA and plan to do this early January sometime.
Flycutting the pistons might be a option, but I'd like to have someone looking over my shoulder who has done it once or twice.
I'm in Bucks county PA and plan to do this early January sometime.
Originally Posted by 99SeanWS6
do you have to drop/pull the engine to flycut?
Yeah I hear you can do it with an angle or flex adapter. But we were doing a h/c swap. So since we had the car that far apart, decided to pull the motor to flycut and mill the heads for best compression. Well, since the motor is out, let's put some better rod bolts in. So we did that. And I had a busted motor mount, so we went poly on the motor and tranny mount. Well, we'll be under the car. Let's do some LCAs. LOL! So it turned out more expensive, but the point is that you should do all you can while you're at it, and pulling the motor made these things super simple. It's just a few extra bolts, and yanked it right outta the top with the hood on, like it's nothing.
Now I have high compression, don't have to worry about PTV clearance, can spin it to 7k+ if I need to (rev limiter at 7k for now), eliminated wheelhop, and the car doesn't bounce everywhere like the old busted motor mount had it doing. All for a little extra work and a few extra bucks, I have piece of mind that you just can't beat.
Hrmm... now I want a bigger bore motor.
Now I have high compression, don't have to worry about PTV clearance, can spin it to 7k+ if I need to (rev limiter at 7k for now), eliminated wheelhop, and the car doesn't bounce everywhere like the old busted motor mount had it doing. All for a little extra work and a few extra bucks, I have piece of mind that you just can't beat.
Hrmm... now I want a bigger bore motor.