Gouge in cylinder

[Cooldean69]

1972 ironhead broke it down again it was spitting oil out of the head (blown head gasket) and upon inspection I noticed a sizable horizontal gouge in the cylinder wall. Anyone know what could have caused this? The cylinder is pretty beat and probably needs to be bored, it’s already 30 over. I’m just wondering what could have caused this massive gouge it’s about the size and depth of a fingernail, there’s similar wear on the other side of the same jug, I’m still getting compression and I don’t have disposable income at the moment so I’m thinking of just sealing this thing back up and running it, how detrimental could this be to the motor? It’s probably passing some oil but idk how bad this is and more specifically what caused this? Never gonna be a race bike or anything so performance isn’t top priority I just want to make it back home from the store. Piston doesn’t have any side to side play that I could detect so I’m not sure how this happened

[Dragstews]

72 and early 73 Sportie jugs can only be bored to .030" max..
Late 73 and up can go .070" over safely ..

You can sleeve your jugs back to std bore or buy a new set of re-pops ...



Cast iron cylinder and piston kit are honed and pre fitted with 9:1 pistons and rings.
They are ready to run and will require break in as suggested in the appropriate shop manual.
For stock stroke.



There is one other option that I failed to mention ..

The late 73-84 top-end will bolt right down on your cases ..
You'll need both the heads and jugs ..

[JBinNC]

That gouge is caused by a loose wristpin retainer, and the subsequent loose wristpin.

It is possible that this damage was done previously, and a new piston fitted. You need to remove the cylinder and check it out. If the wristpin is loose, more damage will quickly result, and you will not make it home from the store.

Jim

[JBinNC]

It appears from your pic that your motor has been fitted with the later 1000cc cylinders (and of necessity, the heads to match). This is a common upgrade for the '72s and '73s, for the reason D. pointed out above. With careful biasing of the boring bar, a good machinist MIGHT be able to save that cylinder, but in any event, good used cylinders or new repops are available.

Jim

[Cooldean69]

Yeah Jim you’re right on because the head gaskets were for late 73- on. If I pull the jugs can the piston rings and or wrist pins be re used? Or is that to be determined, upon inspection? What’s going to happen if I just run it, piston will chew up the cylinders?
Hopefully I can just replace the wrist pin retaining clip I’m gonna take it apart Thank you guys for the responses

[Dragstews]

Lot of work and the cost to do L.A. Sleeves ....

If the other jug is in good shape you could hunt up a jug that hadn't been bored .030" over, then bore it to your piston size ..
If the wound is .020" deep or more, won't clean up the bore ..
Even at .070" over ...

[JBinNC]

Yeah Jim you’re right on because the head gaskets were for late 73- on. If I pull the jugs can the piston rings and or wrist pins be re used? Or is that to be determined, upon inspection? What’s going to happen if I just run it, piston will chew up the cylinders?
Hopefully I can just replace the wrist pin retaining clip I’m gonna take it apart Thank you guys for the responses

If the wristpin clip has come out, you cannot continue to run it. The wristpin will continue to gouge the cylinder wall, which is already damaged as your pic shows. You will also have pieces of the wristpin clip and iron dust from the cylinder in the oil, which will cause more damage throughout the motor.

When you pull the cylinder, remove the base nuts, pull the cylinder up a couple of inches, and stuff clean rags in the case mouth. Then remove the cylinder from the piston. Any loose pieces will be caught by the rags, rather than falling into the case.(This is standard practice when removing a top end, where you do not intend to split the cases.)

No, you cannot just replace the wristpin clip. You will find the piston damaged as well as the cylinder. You will have to replace the piston, rings, and the cylinder.
If the cylinder wall damage is old damage, and someone replaced the piston, leaving the damaged cylinder, and the wristpin clip is in place, you might be able to reuse the piston. But that would have been a terrible previous repair (and I have seen that done). In order to have a good ring seal, the cylinder walls need to be perfectly finished, and a gouge like that is just not acceptable. It will cause oil use and a loss of compression and power.

Jim

[Dragstews]

I'm building a Stroker/Big Bore for a Fellow ...
Started with a stock motor ...
His jugs and pistons from the og motor will not be reused ...

Got diff jugs (3-7/16") to go back with ...



I'll ask him what he wants for em ... Lot of life yet to be had ...

[Dragstews]

These are his cylinders ...
For $150 and the ride they can be yours ....

Came off of a running 1974 XLCH ..

[Dragstews]

These are his cylinders ...
For $150 and the ride they can be yours ....

Came off of a running 1974 XLCH ..

Aaaaa, not to hurry you up any, but there is another Guy wanting to buy the whole top-end off the 74 ..

Heads, jugs and pistons are in his deal ..

[Cooldean69]

You said stock bore? I could trade you my cylinders if you want to take some money off the trade, I’m sure re sleeving sucks but it appears you know what you’re doing but it’s up to you, Where are you located dragstews

[Dragstews]

Not sure I understand your question ??

Are you wanting to sleeve your jugs back to a std. bore .. ??
That would require new pistons ...
By the time you buy std pistons, sleeves and pay for the labor to install the sleeves and fit the pistons, going to have a few bucks in the job ...

The deal that I'm offering you is a set of .030" used (Far from used up) pistons and good jugs that the pistons came out of ...



Sorry .... Really don't have a need to trade for your old stuff ..

Sleeves come in real handy to save old jugs from becoming door stops ...



Especially when new jugs are super hard to come by like the flattie in the above photo ..
But your model isn't in that boat just yet ... Lots of jugs are around for the Ironheads ...

Not that many for VL's and U's ...
__________________________________

... /// https://www.mapquest.com/us/florida/dragstews-283847357 \\\ ...
__________________________________

I’m sure re sleeving sucks but it appears you know what you’re doing.

[Cooldean69]

Alright that sounds good can I email you or something I’m in Arizona [email protected] or idk if you can private message on here

[Dragstews]

https://youtu.be/uCwcyGB9jGg

[Dragstews]

OK ... Cooldean69 and I stuck a deal for the jugs & pistons that came from the 74 CH motor ..

He was wanting to reuse the rings that the pistons already had on them ..
Told him that's not a good idea to do, said that I would throw down a hone pattern on the jugs and for him to buy new rings ..

Hit the front jug lightly with a rigid hone and found this in the bore ...



What you're eyeballing here is rust ..
And it's right in the middle of the ring path ...
Ring seal would suffer going over that area !!

If I was going to try to use these jugs, I would bore them to .040" over ...



Piston set 3-3/16" bore .040 oversize has a compression of 8.4:1. Set includes Hasting 3 piece rings, 2 wrist pins and 4 circlips.
**Note:Run engine at moderate speeds for at least 500 miles, avoiding excessive running in lower gears, in order to properly break-in new pistons and rings.
More Information

FITS XL 1972-1985 ... $118.66 IN STOCK



So our deal is off, Partner ... Unless your a gambler .. ??

... /// https://youtu.be/RqjRNDRWkDk \\\ ...