Hi, I have a '98 STX 1100 that I ran at WOT with the cooling hose disconnected ['**** thing popped off, my fault] , and I cooked the engine. A couple of months ago, I obtained the gaskets and seals from SBT, and last night, I began fixing the engine in earnest. After I unbolted the cylinder block and split the cases, I realized one ring had seized in a piston. Another piston looks a little scuffed at the top. I want to replace all three of them.
The front cylinder already has a sleeve, which was sized for a new stock-size OEM piston and rings. The other two cylinders are the original Nikasil cast-in sleeves, and have been lightly polished when I last rebuilt the engine, to help seat the new rings I had put on the stock pistons. The engine had about 120 hours it if I recall. All three sleeves look all right to me, with maybe a slight cross-hatching required again to seat the new rings I will put with the three new pistons.
I've actually thought about replacing the whole engine with an SBt rebuilt unit, but when adding the shipping to and from Haiti, I just can't justify doing that. So I'd like your opinion on a couple of questions:
1) For the size of the pistons, should I take the 1st oversize [.5 mm]? Or is it better to go straight to the 2nd oversize [1.0 mm], based on the description I've given above of the cylinder block and sleeves? My biggest concern is making sure I get the right size pistons. I have found a qualified machine shop to bore the sleeves.
2) Along the same lines, can the original Nikasil sleeves be bored, or must I replace them with aftermarket sleeves, like I did for the first cylinder?
3) How much will it be for shipping to Florida [regular shipping] 3 piston and ring sets? What about for a top-end kit?
4) Please include any other pertinent information you can think of. I'm sure it will be useful. Any other readers who have gone through a similar rebuild themselves, thanks for sharing your experiences, and giving your advice.
Kind Regards, :D
Gigi
The front cylinder already has a sleeve, which was sized for a new stock-size OEM piston and rings. The other two cylinders are the original Nikasil cast-in sleeves, and have been lightly polished when I last rebuilt the engine, to help seat the new rings I had put on the stock pistons. The engine had about 120 hours it if I recall. All three sleeves look all right to me, with maybe a slight cross-hatching required again to seat the new rings I will put with the three new pistons.
I've actually thought about replacing the whole engine with an SBt rebuilt unit, but when adding the shipping to and from Haiti, I just can't justify doing that. So I'd like your opinion on a couple of questions:
1) For the size of the pistons, should I take the 1st oversize [.5 mm]? Or is it better to go straight to the 2nd oversize [1.0 mm], based on the description I've given above of the cylinder block and sleeves? My biggest concern is making sure I get the right size pistons. I have found a qualified machine shop to bore the sleeves.
2) Along the same lines, can the original Nikasil sleeves be bored, or must I replace them with aftermarket sleeves, like I did for the first cylinder?
3) How much will it be for shipping to Florida [regular shipping] 3 piston and ring sets? What about for a top-end kit?
4) Please include any other pertinent information you can think of. I'm sure it will be useful. Any other readers who have gone through a similar rebuild themselves, thanks for sharing your experiences, and giving your advice.
Kind Regards, :D
Gigi
Comment