cylinder wall pitting

[drfromnc]

Trying to decide whether I should run this engine as is or not. It's a 59A that I inherited from my dad but the engine has been sitting for many decades. Prior to it being parked it was a rebuilt motor with about 10K miles on it. I have removed heads, intake and oil pan to clean and inspect everything out. All looks good to me except cylinder #8. It has some pitting in the sleeve. I have not removed any of the internal moving parts (pistons, valve train) but everything moves freely. nothing stuck.

At this point, I really don't want to go down the road to rebuild it but do want to button things back up to see how it will run. What can I expect if I try to close it up and run it? will these pits damage the rings or piston?

[alanwoodieman]

oil foul the #8 spark plug, some oil smoke. is it really a sleeved engine? thin wall or replacement?

[RalphM]

I would just run it! I had one stock bore with pits, that was rebored to .080, but it did not take all the pits out of one cylinder. Ran great and ever misfired due to a fouled plug.

[Kurt in NJ]

looks like it has 'tin' sleeves they can be replaced ,come pre honed.
most likely any piston-ring damage IF any has already happened.
Why was the engine "parked" ?did it have a head gasket problem?
I have seen less damage cause problems and seen more damage causing no problems

[deuce_roadster]

If everything else is fine, if it were mine i would have a new sleeve put in there, re hone the whole engine and put a new set of rings in. 10k miles a long time ago with old paraffin oil probably has some wear. Personally, I don't put things back together that look like that.

[petehoovie]

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[sugarmaker]

drfromnc,
Sure it will run. Its not going to get better. May burn some oil? The pits look pretty deep.
Good luck with your family engine project!
Regards,
Chris

[Ronnieroadster]

The big concern is the location of the deep pits. I a ring end gets in one of the deep pits and ends up hanging up for a split second while continually going up and down then you risk the possibility of the ring breaking and possibly the ring land eventually. Since it looks like a tin sleeve a new sleeve would be the best solution. But if your not interested in going down the road to rebuilding its just a gamble how this will turn out.
Ronieroadster

[tubman]

I would think that because it's a sleeve, it would be a "no-brainer". What am I missing?

[bbrocksr]

Those pits are deep, better put a new sleeve in it. Don't waste time and money on it. Fix it right.
Bill

[bbrocksr]

Those pits are deep, Don't waste time and money on it. Fix it right and put a new sleeve in it.
Bill

[Ggmac]

I would run it on a driver . Start looking for a replacement sleeve . They are easy to install , usually! The

[drfromnc]

Thanks for all the reply’s.

Alanwoodieman, yes all cylinders appear to be sleeved. No clue on what kind of sleeve.

Kurt in nj, it was parked to do a restoration is my guess because it was mostly disassembled when dad finally agreed to let me have it. Now too late to ask more questions. He passed last summer.

I have no clue on how to replace sleeves although I know someone who has some to sale. What would a machine charge to do this job? Or is this something I can do at home? FYI,I’ve never done any engine work what so ever before. Lol

[Zeke3]

Check with KiWiUS, he may have the tools necessary to replace a cylinder sleeve. He is in the Charlotte area, which isn't too far from you.

[fordwife]

Once I found a gouge in a cylinder wall about an inch long. I cleaned it, filled it with JB weld and honed it smooth. 3K miles later.its still running smooth with no problems.

[GB SISSON]

When overhauling my 8 hp 1912 stover hit n miss engine, 6" bore, 12" stroke, I found some pretty large pits in the cylinder. I thought about getting it sleeved, but my 82 year old machinest buddy told me that when he was a younger man he raced air cooled vws. He felt the cylinders needed better oiling at his high rpms, so he took a dremel tool and created dimples (pits) in the cylinder walls to hold some oil. He said his engines' lives were extended greatly after this. He then told me that if they were not connected vertically (ok horizontally in a vw) they would create no problems..

[38 coupe]

I see lots of pits in a vertical line, "chain like pitting" and at least one deep pit. Ronnieroadster brought up a very good concern, having a ring snag on a deep pit. Just replace that sleeve, hone all cylinders, and install a new set of rings. If you have never done this before, well now you have a great learning experience available.

[drfromnc]

38 coupe, if I go the route to replace that sleeve I might as well replace the connecting rod bearings and main bearings too? I can see a domino effect at this point because since I am this far in might as well pull valve train to inspect and replace....geez.

[38 coupe]

I would inspect the bearings. If they only have 10k bearings they are probably just fine to reinstall as is. Heck, some barners have the habit of saving old floating rod bearings for use in other engines if they are certain types and look good. As for valve train, again inspect everything and reinstall if everything looks ok. Make sure you label or organize all the parts as they come apart so you can put it all back together in the same place.

The pictured cylinder does not appear to have excessive wear. I suspect you can have a nice running engine for the cost of the sleeve install, ring set, and gasket set (and a couple cans of spray paint if you really want it to look nice). If you really want to ensure a smooth motor you can get the crank balance checked and corrected if out. If everything is worn out do you really want to put that engine in a vehicle and drive it anyway? At a minimum I would pull a couple rod caps and a main cap to inspect some bearings anyway.

[drfromnc]

makes sense. Here are pics of the other 7 cylinders.