L92 Refresh and Looking for Advice
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 726
From: Ruckersville, VA
L92 Refresh and Looking for Advice Hi there,
I picked up a good running L92 and while I had the heads off and pulled the cam, I noticed that the cam bearings were pretty worn. Since I'm going to be replacing those, I decided to just replace all the bearings and refresh the whole motor. While the cylinder walls look great with many of the cross hatching still visible, I wanted to deglaze the walls and re-ring the pistons while I was in the motor this far. I bought a ball hone recently that is 320 grit and meant for touching up the cylinder walls, but this will be my first time doing this. I was hoping to get some advice from some experts on the right or wrong techniques. The last thing I want to do is over do it with the ball hone and end up needing new pistons and balancing my rotating assembly. I was planning to use some ATF or something on the ball hone and do 2-3 quick up and down passes on each cylinder to clean things up before the new rings. Will that take off too much material?
My goal is to freshen up the motor using all of the existing rotating assembly, but using all new bearings and re-ringing the stock L92 pistons. I'm also adding an LSA supercharger so while I'm there, I will open the ring gaps to account for the added heat from the LSA.
Thanks,
Ryan
I picked up a good running L92 and while I had the heads off and pulled the cam, I noticed that the cam bearings were pretty worn. Since I'm going to be replacing those, I decided to just replace all the bearings and refresh the whole motor. While the cylinder walls look great with many of the cross hatching still visible, I wanted to deglaze the walls and re-ring the pistons while I was in the motor this far. I bought a ball hone recently that is 320 grit and meant for touching up the cylinder walls, but this will be my first time doing this. I was hoping to get some advice from some experts on the right or wrong techniques. The last thing I want to do is over do it with the ball hone and end up needing new pistons and balancing my rotating assembly. I was planning to use some ATF or something on the ball hone and do 2-3 quick up and down passes on each cylinder to clean things up before the new rings. Will that take off too much material?
My goal is to freshen up the motor using all of the existing rotating assembly, but using all new bearings and re-ringing the stock L92 pistons. I'm also adding an LSA supercharger so while I'm there, I will open the ring gaps to account for the added heat from the LSA.
Thanks,
Ryan
Last edited by ryeguy2006a; Nov 23, 2020 at 10:40 AM.
I don’t know that you can really over do it with the ball hones, they’re not really meant to remove material like a hone you would find in a machine shop. You would probably have to spend weeks on it to remove enough to need new pistons.
I used a Flex Hone ball hone for one of my low budget builds and just gave each cylinder 10-15 strokes and used the Flex Hone oil. I didn’t get leak down numbers but it doesn’t smoke, so it seems to have been a success so far.
I used a Flex Hone ball hone for one of my low budget builds and just gave each cylinder 10-15 strokes and used the Flex Hone oil. I didn’t get leak down numbers but it doesn’t smoke, so it seems to have been a success so far.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 726
From: Ruckersville, VA
That is just the feedback I wanted to hear, so thank you! I've never used one before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I think what I'll do is find the worst cylinder and count the number of strokes to clean it up and then repeat that number on all cylinders to get an even wear across the whole motor. I very much appreciate the feedback.
That is just the feedback I wanted to hear, so thank you! I've never used one before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I think what I'll do is find the worst cylinder and count the number of strokes to clean it up and then repeat that number on all cylinders to get an even wear across the whole motor. I very much appreciate the feedback.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 726
From: Ruckersville, VA
Awesome, thanks for all the tips guys.
In what order should I start putting the block back together? Should I hone the cylinder walls before or after installing the cam bearings? Does it not matter?
In what order should I start putting the block back together? Should I hone the cylinder walls before or after installing the cam bearings? Does it not matter?
Trending Topics
Ideally you should hone the block and do all final cleaning before cam bearings go in. Makes it easier to get the brushes through the passages with the cam bearings out of the way. Are you proficient at installing cam bearings? Getting them lined up correctly to where the cam spins freely is harder than it looks. Make sure you oil up a camshaft and install it before you put the tool away. Make sure the cam turns freely. Also there’s a science behind where the oil hole should actually be. Not saying you don’t know this already, just asking in case your not aware.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 726
From: Ruckersville, VA
This will be my first time doing cam bearings. I'm open to any and all suggestions.
That's kinda what I was thinking about the hone before I start installing the bearings.
That's kinda what I was thinking about the hone before I start installing the bearings.
Following as I'm getting into a L92 now as well.
OP, wondering why you went with new rings? Was there higher mileage on the engine or was it more like "I might as well while I'm here"?
Mine is a 93K out of an '08, was planning to use orig rings and not touch the walls provided they were clean. I just got my ARP Mains/Rods/Head hardware (I absolutely hate TTY) and I plan to gap the rings 30/32. I'll check the main/rod/cam bearings while I'm there and replace as needed but I assume they will be fine.
OP, wondering why you went with new rings? Was there higher mileage on the engine or was it more like "I might as well while I'm here"?
Mine is a 93K out of an '08, was planning to use orig rings and not touch the walls provided they were clean. I just got my ARP Mains/Rods/Head hardware (I absolutely hate TTY) and I plan to gap the rings 30/32. I'll check the main/rod/cam bearings while I'm there and replace as needed but I assume they will be fine.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 726
From: Ruckersville, VA
Yes mine had higher miles just under 200k and it was a little of while I'm in there.
You may want to rethink the arp hardware as you'll need to line hone and have the rods resized. There's a bunch of threads on the topic. And know that the main and rod bolts are torque to angle, not tty which means they can be reused.
You may want to rethink the arp hardware as you'll need to line hone and have the rods resized. There's a bunch of threads on the topic. And know that the main and rod bolts are torque to angle, not tty which means they can be reused.
Thanks for the info.
I keep having that argument with myself, should I keep the OEM HW and get it together, or do I ARP it and get it to the shop for a little machine work. I'm new to tuning LSx and I like boosting things so I'm leaning towards OEM since I have a history of "just one more" and I'm sure I'll be back in there shortly no matter what I do. Either way I have the parts so I'll make it a game time decision. Pushing it out lets me get a little more tuning experience and I can focus on making some other improvements on the car.
Sorry for the hijack.
I keep having that argument with myself, should I keep the OEM HW and get it together, or do I ARP it and get it to the shop for a little machine work. I'm new to tuning LSx and I like boosting things so I'm leaning towards OEM since I have a history of "just one more" and I'm sure I'll be back in there shortly no matter what I do. Either way I have the parts so I'll make it a game time decision. Pushing it out lets me get a little more tuning experience and I can focus on making some other improvements on the car.
Sorry for the hijack.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 726
From: Ruckersville, VA
No hijacking from my perspective. We are talking along the same vein in both builds.
I installed the cam bearings on Saturday night. Turned out pretty good from what I can tell. All the oil passages are clear and centered properly. I installed a cam and it spins very freely by hand. I think I'm ok, but time will tell when I go to fire it up. Next up is main/rod bearings and file fitting the new rings.
I installed the cam bearings on Saturday night. Turned out pretty good from what I can tell. All the oil passages are clear and centered properly. I installed a cam and it spins very freely by hand. I think I'm ok, but time will tell when I go to fire it up. Next up is main/rod bearings and file fitting the new rings.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 726
From: Ruckersville, VA
I'm to the point now where I'm getting ready to start gapping my Mahle piston rings. I'm going to be running an LSA supercharger at around 10 psi. According to the instructions I can find from Mahle, they recommend .006 for top and second ring per 1" of bore, which will be .02439" for me. From what I'm seeing with others that have built motors they seem to be opening them up to more like .028/.030. Any comments? I'd almost like to be more cautious and open them up a little more if there really aren't any penalties for HP or blowby.
My build went to the shop after I disassembled it....
I found cam bearing were worn, a tiny bit of scruffing, and I wanted ARP rod bearings so screw it... He cleaned it up a bit and gave the heads/valves a once over to, everything looks good.
