Clams Canino
Commander
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2004
- Messages
- 2,179
Just in case it got lost in the never ending discussion about hones; Rodbolt made a REAL good point about muriatic acid.<br /><br />At NO time do you want to get it on the aluminum parts of the block or "head" area. It will eat up the aluminum and harm the block. It's best to keep whatever side of the sleeve you're working on DOWN so the acid cant try to run. <br /><br />Rubber gloves, Q-tips, and thick paper towels soaked with Muriatic are your friends. 
<br /><br />You've got to get ALL the aluminum off. Muriatic meeting aluminum will blacken and bubble. When it hits the bare steel wall, it does nothing.<br /><br />Once you have ALL the aluminum off the walls, you can (only then) assess them. You may get as lucky as I just did on a 1500 block, I had clean walls after Muriatic. Remember, honing (by whatever means - LOL) isn't designed to "fix" the walls, only to deglaze and prepare the surface to meet the new rings. Don't start thinking you can "hone out" any real scratches, you will destroy the cylinder first.<br /><br />In your case for a "spare head" at minimal cost you may have to overlook the "little stuff" or just get the "worst one" bored to get by. If the block isn't too badly gouged up, go on Ebay and do a search on "Mercury Outboard Pistons". You'll be surprised what you'll find over a few weeks of looking. You'll know yours when you see them, ask here if in doubt. If it's a crank with pistons (sometimes they sell them that way) I might even split the cost with you, I'm always in the market for another 99ci crankshaft.<br /><br />By word of encouragement:<br /><br />The head I'm running in the PM-2 was thrown together out of "rejected" parts (stuff .002 out of specs) in single weekend after someone actually bought the powerhead right off my boat!<br />"Honey I have good news - and bad news" <br /><br />I always "meant to" get back to it and build up a "real head". Heh, it's got 200 hours on it now, with some run time even at 6000, compression is 135+ all around, and it's not rattling, at this point I'm gonna just run it till it snaps to see how long it hangs in. It was slapped together, on a cutting board, under crude, hurried conditions, with a 17 year old daughter who just wanted to go tubing helping to rush it along. This "disposable powerhead" was supposed to last 2 months till the off-season.<br /><br />That was a couple seasons ago....... beware those "spare powerheads". <br /><br />-W
<br /><br />You've got to get ALL the aluminum off. Muriatic meeting aluminum will blacken and bubble. When it hits the bare steel wall, it does nothing.<br /><br />Once you have ALL the aluminum off the walls, you can (only then) assess them. You may get as lucky as I just did on a 1500 block, I had clean walls after Muriatic. Remember, honing (by whatever means - LOL) isn't designed to "fix" the walls, only to deglaze and prepare the surface to meet the new rings. Don't start thinking you can "hone out" any real scratches, you will destroy the cylinder first.<br /><br />In your case for a "spare head" at minimal cost you may have to overlook the "little stuff" or just get the "worst one" bored to get by. If the block isn't too badly gouged up, go on Ebay and do a search on "Mercury Outboard Pistons". You'll be surprised what you'll find over a few weeks of looking. You'll know yours when you see them, ask here if in doubt. If it's a crank with pistons (sometimes they sell them that way) I might even split the cost with you, I'm always in the market for another 99ci crankshaft.<br /><br />By word of encouragement:<br /><br />The head I'm running in the PM-2 was thrown together out of "rejected" parts (stuff .002 out of specs) in single weekend after someone actually bought the powerhead right off my boat!<br />"Honey I have good news - and bad news" <br /><br />I always "meant to" get back to it and build up a "real head". Heh, it's got 200 hours on it now, with some run time even at 6000, compression is 135+ all around, and it's not rattling, at this point I'm gonna just run it till it snaps to see how long it hangs in. It was slapped together, on a cutting board, under crude, hurried conditions, with a 17 year old daughter who just wanted to go tubing helping to rush it along. This "disposable powerhead" was supposed to last 2 months till the off-season.<br /><br />That was a couple seasons ago....... beware those "spare powerheads". <br /><br />-W