LQ4 6.0 tear-down and reassembly questions

[1988montecarloss 2]

took the heads off the motor today, took some pics, looks like it had a dead cylinder for awhile because one of the pistons is a lot cleaner than the rest, but theres no physical damage anywhere so maybe it was just from the headgasket, there is some light rust "staining" on the tops of the cylinder bores too, but they still feel perfectly smooth and you cant catch your fingernail in any of it and a lot of it wipes right off, could i just use a dingleball hone to clean it up and put the pistons back in it?

here are the pics

[Barry Donovan]

that must have been a nice engine...one barely working, and continuing to drive.

this also reveals overlap.

it is obvious, trying to save money..
simply check everything, slop on the ones that kept working harder. go right back at it again.

turbo stuff is alot of risk on your own anyway.

[1988montecarloss 2]

its also a 2004-up motor with the same length head bolts, which saves me money on aftermarket ones

[kyhunter89]

Don't reuse headbolts or balancer bolt

[1988montecarloss 2]

Don't reuse headbolts or balancer bolt

yeah, planned on arp headbolts anyway and the gasket kit with them comes with the balancer bolt too so i figured it was a torque to yield deal, think id be alright with just honing the cylinders with a hone on a drill and putting the pistons back in?

[kyhunter89]

As long as it cleans up, I think it will by the pictures. Id talk to an engine builder who can look at it in person. What rings you plan on running?

[anotheridiot]

I've done much worse with dingleballs lol. just remember to lubricate it and try to keep a 60 degree cut going so your rings will break in faster. its really best to use a ridge reamer if you can feel the rust on the top edge before slapping your balls against it.

[1988montecarloss 2]

As long as it cleans up, I think it will by the pictures. Id talk to an engine builder who can look at it in person. What rings you plan on running?

probably the stock ones, might gap the top rings to .028 instead of .015

[Caveman Tony]

Ask yourself this: Why did the head gasket fail?

if you don't know the answer, that same reason could make it fail again.

[OldMachinist]

If you don't bore the block it is best to use cheap cast iron rings as they will conform to irregularities and seal better. If you can feel a ridge the bores need bored as the most critical place in a bore for sealing is at the top of the ring travel. Ridge reamers are designed to remove the ridge so pistons can be removed and are a good way to ruin a block. I know people don't want to spend the money to properly recondition cylinder bores but you will be unhappy with the results if you don't. At least have someone run a dial bore guage in the cylinders so you know exactly what you have before you make your decision on what to do.