Kohler engine rebuild progress and questions

[Mad Farmer]

$65 is the price just to bore it.

Should be bore/hone fit piston. I'd bring the crank too and have them check the journals. If bad have them turn it. Also look at valves/ seats/guides

If you do this right your kids will inherit a good engine....

 

[used red MN]

$65 is the price just to bore it.

…When cylinders are bored to oversize, they are generally bored or rough honed to within about . 0025″ to . 003″ of final size to allow for finish honing. The finish honing step removes the fractured and torn metal created by the boring process and produces the kind of surface finish and crosshatch…
That is a quote from a search. As stated even the sharpest cutter on the boring machine advanced at the slowest cutting rate still leaves microscopic damage as stated above. If that is not removed by honing the rings won’t last. Unless you have rigid hone with stone sets of multiple grits you will never get that 0.0025” honed out to fit your piston. Example of a rigid hone Maybe you could do it if you went at it a day or two.
As rustred pointed out if they honing it and fitting your piston they are giving you quite a deal. However, they may just be doing it with a powered honing machine like a Sunnen CK10 and using very course stones to hone the metal out instead of using a bore bar. So one setup and just change the stones for the final finish honing.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

I just called a nearish by shop and they estimate $65 they’d charge me only. I’ll take the motor along next time I go to their area. Many forum members were not impressed with our cross hatching job... Do shops do a good job cross hatching or is what like I tried good enough?

A shop "should" do a good honing job but at that price I'd expect it would only be a glaze-breaker.