Does anybody know anything about having the VF1000 rebored, I’m considering having my other VF done sometime in the summer but have read on the internet a couple of horror stories about the barrel becoming tapered after boring because of the step at the bottom of the cylinder, what experiences do you have? is there anyone competent to do the job? I’m also wanting the crank regrinding, I have considered a secondhand engine but would prefer to rebuild this one, Phil.
I’m wondering if anyone can recommend a company here in Australia that does engine rebores for the VF?
I contacted Serco in Queensland and the guy just about bit my head off!! ‘A nightmare to do’
He said they have a ‘wet sleeve’ which can come loose during rebores, he had problems with one they were doing where the sleeve came loose ‘cost me a thousand to fix it’ and ‘will never do one again’
Is it really that hard to have them rebored?
Cheers
I never found anyone in the UK. apparently the step at the bottom of the cylinder causes problems when using a normal boring bar, leaving the bore tapered, I found out when trying to hone the bore, and broke a stone on the cylinder hone! so I bought four old engines off Ebay hoping one is Ok, surely someone must be able to do a rebore, what are we Vf owners to do when our machines get some miles on their back?
Hi Phil,I came across the same problem with reboring.However the inscruitable Mr Honda lists oversize pistons,ergo it must be possible.Our Ozzy pal has an interesting point tho,the liners do come out.So does anyone have the facilities to bore a liner?Time to ask around methinks,regards BIF
My progress so far…
Most of the places I’ve tried don’t have the facilities to set up the V4 case on their boring machines, so aren’t interested.
I did find one place in Adelaide SA, a chap by the name of Dave Cahill. He has 35 years experience in bike engine rebores and performance upgrades,crank rebuilds etc.
He didn’t bat an eyelid when I told him what it was, he currently has the case so I’m nervously waiting for the phone call which will be either;
a)What is this thing you have sent…no way!
b)I’ve messed it up, where do you want the bits sent?
c)All finished, here’s the bill!
I’ve also been talking to Dave Dodge - Dodge Racing Products, in the USA. http://www.magnaownersoftexas.com/drp8486vf1000.html
He builds the Oil mod kits as well as a pile of other performance mods for V4’s. He also regularly rebores the engines and can manufacture pistons to suit!
So as BIF mentions it must be possible, maybe dependent on the type of boring equipment they have?
Anybody have a spare FE case I can buy just in case it all goes pear shaped?[:D][:(]
Cheers
Well I now have a nicely rebored engine case![:D]
Dave, who did the work, said it was a pain as it didn’t fit in his regular boring machine and he had to do it on a milling machine instead.
Also spoke to our local engine re builders who have just had a 'Rottler’4 axis CNC boring machine installed at a cost of $250,000.
He said they could have done it on that as they attach engine blocks though the crankshaft area, then can spin them any way they need to. Reading between the lines I think they also would have needed to build a jig to hold the block in position accurately, probably an expensive job.
I believe Dave Dodge also uses a ‘Rottler’ for his VF engine rebores.
At least I can breath a sigh of relief now and get on to the next job!!
This topic has given me a bit of a headache. I don’t need a rebore, but the original bores are 30,000miles old and I was going to re-ring the pistons and de-glaze the bores with one of those hand held honing tools that fit in an electric drill. If a hone is not possible for the home mechanic, what are the options? Can the sleeves be removed? There are bolts locating them at the top of the cylinder. Can they be safely removed, followed by the sleeves? Are they pressed in? Can they be removed by heating up the case itself? Lots of questions and no answers!
Hi Scratcher, this definitely gave me a headache and was a pain elsewhere as well!
If you only want to de-glaze and hone the bore look for a 400 grit Silicon carbide, 3" flex hone, these look like a bottle brush and fit in a normal drill, also use decent honing oil and make sure that after you are finished you give the bores a very good wash with a nylon brush and soapy water to remove all the fine metal and residue from the bores.
There are a few videos on Youtube and the Flex hone website which show how to do this to get the right cross hatch pattern, speed is also important.
Website http://www.brushresearch.com/about.php
They are also available on Fleabay.
Cheers
Back to this one, I bought an old VF engine off ebay for 99p (no expense spared here!) it was seized they let water get into the cylinders, stripped it to experiment taking out the liners, piss easy!! they have one bolt holding the liner in at the top and the liner is an inteferance fit at the bottom of the crancase/liner for about 10mm, they virtually fell out when I hit the seized piston from underneath with a drift, this weekend if I get chance I will knock up a more suitable puller, the liners will hone out lovely as they are now, but still dont know about boring, by the way, the crancases/crank/transmission off the engine I paid 99p for are in beatiful condition, wish I could say the same for the other three I paid £100 each for[:(!]
That’s good news regarding the liners. How hard did you have to hit it!? Removal will make honing easier. I wonder if there some kind of seal at the bottom of the liner where it seats in the case to prevent coolant seeping out of the bottom? There are no part numbers relating to such a seal, but without one they are relying on an interference fit to maintain water retention which sounds a bit iffy for Honda.
I hit one quite hard with a 16oz hammer and aluminium drift only trying to remove the piston and did break the liner on the top flange where the retaining bolt is located,[:o)] with hindsight, on a seizure I would remove the liner and piston together then press the pistons out, the liner has two large O ring seals around it, I will clean them up and put some photos on, Phil.
quote:
Originally posted by philjoI hit one quite hard with a 16oz hammer and aluminium drift only trying to remove the piston and did break the liner on the top flange where the retaining bolt is located,[:o)] with hindsight, on a seizure I would remove the liner and piston together then press the pistons out, the liner has two large O ring seals around it, I will clean them up and put some photos on, Phil.
Nice work Phil [8D]
WHY DOES A V4 ENGINE NEED ALL THIS WORK AT ONLY 30,000 MILES?
They should’nt. I looked into it because of water damage,ie: rust in the bore, I have stripped four engines with unknown mileage and besides the rust damaged one none of the others showed any sign of needing a rebore, at most a hone out and new rings. Unfortunately Scratcher is no longer with us to answer the 30,000 mile question. Phil.
I don`t know much about this subject but coming to it logically two things strike me 1) plenty of cars have wet liners and they get rebored OK i.e. Renault 5 Turbos, 2) Has anyone tried to get a new liner from Honda to fit into the block ?