earl

There are so many posts about "line" boring or honing that I wanted to clear up some misconceptions.
First off, there is no such thing as "line" boring or "line honing". The proper terminology is align hone or align bore. The only difference between the two processes is the machine that is used to accomplish it. You can use a boring bar with a cutter blade or a honing machine with a stone. Both machines give the same results.
Align boring is the process or boring down the main bearing tunnel (or webs) to align all the bearing saddles. In order to do this you must first grind down the main bearing caps to make the holes smaller. Then you reinstall the caps (without bearings) and torque them to spec. The boring machine returns the holes to their proper size by boring thru the block and all holes are then in perfect alignment.
Why would you want to do this process? If your block were warped, this would fix it. If you spun a main bearing, this could fix it. If you have your block with only the crank installed, the crank should be able to be turned freely by hand. If you can do this, an align bore will not help and could even make the block slightly weaker. Save your money for things you really need.
Hope this clears it up for everyone.

qwkteg125

sorry off topic but what does (sic) mean? i see it all the time but can only guess what the exact meaning is...

boomslang

It is recommended that the block be align honed/bored after resleeving. Your thoughts?

boomslang

A known spelling error.

Smashback

Of course it should be, just like it should be when you install a block guard. You want to be sure the cylinders are not out of whack.

boomslang

?

Most people don't pull the motor to align hone when they install a block guard.

Smashback

Right, because they are not doing it the right way. Ask anybody with experience building motors. The way Honda's decks are not solid like most (that I have seen anyway) if you hammer something between the deck and the sleeves, then the cylinders are not going to be aligned anymore...will cause stress to the rotating assembly.

earl

Who specifically says you should align hone the block after a sleave install? Honda is an open deck block so putting sleaves in should not affect crank alignment at all. If the sleaves were installed so crooked as to twist and tweak the block, there is a bigger problem than the crank alignment. How many of the guys with GE sleaves have align honed their blocks? Align honing is a last resort. If you are building a race motor and the crank won't turn easily, it's time for a new block.
I think that if an engine builder has told you he did this to your block, he very well could be padding more profit onto the job. Look at the bottom of your main bearing caps for signs of being milled. It's the only way a real align bore is done.

BigMoose

Hey Earl,

You talk of milling the caps to get a little meat to realign the bore (up and down or vertical axis). What is your recommendation if you need a little more meat side to side in the horizontal axis?

Regards,
BigMoose

earl

Great question, BigMoose..It's a lot easier picking up meat on the vertical axis than on the horizontal. Actually the only way to pick up some on the horizontal is to mill alot off the caps and their mating surface on the block. As the side arc increases, more meat becomes available. This really plays havoc on the block as it actually raises the height of the crankshaft in the block which messes with all the geometry. You pretty much hit on the reason why I think it is better to start over with a different block than doing an align bore.
Earl

Flamenco-T

my oh my...I was just talking to Mike about this...could this be the reason for this post ?

well, that is what I was told...in which, I am still not sure why and how, thanks so much to earl for clearing it up...

stan

BigMoose

Thanks for the expanded explanation Earl!

I chased what we thought were "line bore" problems about 20 years ago on a couple of blown rat motors in a pulling tractor. Turned out to be chassis flex that worked its way thru our multiple engine mount system and resulted in block distortion under load.

Regards,
BigMoose

earl

Now that's some bad *** torque

turboex

he is ight. when i put in my block guard witht he engine out of the car. i took it to the machineshop to get it bord out and they said before they started that they measured the cyls. and they were now out of wack due to the blockguard. they were not out by much but they were out. so he did as you said and fixed it righ up. so good info man. people need to stop being cheap. all my motor machining was under 200bucks. its best to do it right the first time.

BodyKits NW

Earl,
I have a backup GSR Block and when I bought the block it didn't come with the main caps. I was pretty upset, but I was able to track down the original owner and he sent me the main caps. I had a local machine shop check it out, but they said the holes were out of round. I just figured if they are the right main caps then it would be fine. The machine shop said I needed a align bore, but WHAT IF the main caps are the wrong ones? Can I still have it align bored? They looked like they lined up with everything just fine, but they were out of round. They may be the right main caps, but just really messed up...I don't know.

Full-Race Javier

wow

Kwuaymaikrup

I have a similar problem. I am going to be using main caps from a different block and am wondering how I am supposed to be able to size bearings for it. Are all Honda mains the same size? Or am I gonna need an Align bore to get these to fit? I would like to use the ACL bearings but am having trouble deciding or figuring out which ones I need. Please help clear this up, it can't be as complicated as it seems to be.

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

b18bturbo

you got to have it align bored to match the bearing that your engine builder will use to spec the clearance for the mains