I bought a military take out 6.2 and it had rust in two of the cylinders where apparrently the motor was left in the weather. I want to try to clean them up to see if it's salvageable. Can I run a cylinder hone carefully in those two cylinders without removing the pistons and crank?

It's pretty hard to do with the piston in, because the hone doesn't get to the bottom of cylinder wall. Can be done with the piston out and crank at BDC for that cylinder. Need to be meticulously clean, no metal filings or dust left to contaminate the bearing when it is re-assembled.....

I bought a military take out 6.2 and it had rust in two of the cylinders where apparrently the motor was left in the weather. I want to try to clean them up to see if it's salvageable. Can I run a cylinder hone carefully in those two cylinders without removing the pistons and crank?
i would give it a try. as long as the rust don't go down past the piston. put the heads back on and test fire it. you may have a good engine. post some pics

a little emery cloth may be easier to remove a little surface rust..if its bad i would pull the piston after cleaning as well as possible and plenty of lube..if very very careful and there is no ridge the ring's could be saved...but careful and clean are the main words here

I don't see how you could leave the piston in and still keep the debris from going down between the piston and wall.

I don't see how you could leave the piston in and still keep the debris from going down between the piston and wall.

Grease? :confuzeld

Grease? :confuzeld
Yea, maybe, but if the engine is out anyway, wouldn't be much more work to pull the piston and clean the entire wall???
I guess it would depend on how far down the piston was when it rusted out. If you could move the piston down far enough to clear the work area, it might just work??

Yea, maybe, but if the engine is out anyway, wouldn't be much more work to pull the piston and clean the entire wall???
I guess it would depend on how far down the piston was when it rusted out. If you could move the piston down far enough to clear the work area, it might just work??

No idea....... Personally, I wouldn't even THINK about doing it without pulling that piston out.......

OK, here's the deal, I am a parts changer not a mechanic. I have the block torn down to basically a short block. Can I pull each piston without pulling the crank? Any special tools? Any advice here is greatly appreciated. Will post some pictures tonight.

yes you can. just remove each one individually. push down to clear the crank, then rotate the crank out of the way. knock out with a soft hammer handle. best to cover rod bolts with some rubber hose so they don't scar the crank when you rotate. toss your rod bearings, its a good time to change them

OK taking it apart I got, I've always been good at taking things apart, it's the putting back together that gives me a little trouble sometimes, especially if I want it to work again. Anything in particular about the re-assembly?

mark where the pistons came from and put back in same holes. keep the same rod cap with each rod. if you toss your rod bearings you don't have to remember where they came from

ok, since it appears I am going to be pulling each piston, might as well install a stud girdle and what about a set of rod studs instead of bolts? Do you think the price of the stud girdle ($175) is worth it?

i put one in, better safe than sorry. i hope it helps. the only other upgrade i'd worry about are head studs. reusable, unlike the stock head bolts

I have a brand new set of ARP's sitting on the shelf!!!

your all set, hope the honing works out for you

Me too, thanks. If not, I still have my other engine. It was working fine except for the oil leaks everywhere. Worst case, I will re-gasket it and re-install. I REALLY want to put a cummins in it but am not sure I want to bite off a project that big by myself. I have done a lot of research on it and the price is reasonable for everything but there is still some custom work that has to be done to install in this body style of truck. Maybe one day.
Thanks for the info!!

id pull the crank when honing u wont get fine metal pieces it the bearings and if your going to install a stud girdle all you would have to do is mark each main cap and remove them. could install new main bearings while your at it.

id pull the crank when honing u wont get fine metal pieces it the bearings and if your going to install a stud girdle all you would have to do is mark each main cap and remove them. could install new main bearings while your at it.
don't even have to mark them, their numbered

its hard to give you too much advice without actually seeing the engine..when you say rust is it just a fine surface rust that rubs off easy with some emery..or been there awhile type rust that has pitted the walls and made boring a must

yea give us some pics of the damage. maybe it can be practically wiped off.

:nopics:

yea brent and turbo..give us some engine porn..:) ha ha ha ha