350 diesel advice

[1974vette]

I have a 350 diesel that ran good when I bought it. it has sat in a heated shop for about two years. I was pretty sure it had a bad head gasket on it when purchased. I removed the head to get it redone at the head shop but was surprised to see some rust build up in one of the cylinders. my question is how aggressive can I go at it to remove the rust with a scotch pad or better off to leave it and let the piston do it? I have had the cylinders soaking for the past several weeks. by the way the advice I get from here is always greatly appreciated. thanks in advance

 

[Janicholson]

With the piston in that cylinder all the way down, and a strip of duct tape placed to cover the edge of the piston, and the cylinder wall, using the scotch brite, or 400 grit silicon carbide, to polish the rust off is fine. Don't get carried away, some discoloration is OK, if you cannot feel it with a fingernail, it is good enough. Pits of 1/16 inch are to be expected, and are OK. clean all dust and grit before removing the tape. Jim

 

[the tractor vet]

Now as for me on this , myself i would pull the piston out . If there is a rigde then i would remove the ridge first so not to damage the rings or piston then i would use my fine stone ball hone and use that . It is fast and it will also deglaze and if done correctly put a light cross hatch back in then clean the piston up and reset ring end gaps so they are not inline with each other and stuff it back to gather after a good cleaning of the bore with Dawn dish soap and HOT water several times till ya see a light rusting then coat the bore with a light coat of oil and put the piston back in . Is pushing the piston up thru the rust hard on the rings ?? maybe a little will they be ok ?? probably . If your worried about them then now is the time to put a new set on them IF the bore is not plum wore out before you start. How many times do you need to run the ball hone up and down ?? don't know as i am not there to see . Should i try and get it all out ?? here again i can not see how bad it is . More then likely if it is light rust a few strokes up and down will get the job done . Are ball hones expencive ?? been awhile since i have had to by one . They are fast easy to use .

 

[1974vette]

Thanks for the advice. My problem is I cannot locate over sized rings. Standard size only. I will rub on it some if I dont like it then maybe remove the piston and hone it out.