zeroptzero

While working under the engine this weekend for the oil jet bolt matter I tried to take a peek up into the cylinders. People suggested looking up at the cylinders while doing the oil jet swap. To be honest I thought it was near impossible to tell anything of what was happening in the cylinders. People talk about the cylinders looking shiny and all, but they have a light coat of oil on them so they naturally look shiny. My engine is a 2002 ap1, 60k miles on it.

Just wondering if it is normal to see markings on two sides of the cylinders where the piston skirts run up along ?. I know the pistons wear more on the two sides with the skirts. They didn't look like deep scratches or anything, but you could identify sides where the piston skirts are. I think in an open cylinder you could feel the walls with your fingers to see how bad they are, but looking up from underneath it doesn't look like much. I just want to make sure that the markings don't necessarily mean the cylinders are scuffed up. The engine runs perfectly fine/strong without any odd noises or oil burning issues. Thanks for any replies.

zeroptzero

Anyone ?

Billman250

I'll check a block I have here, but I dont think its normal. Is it on one cylinder?

Billman250

The block I'm building now has two pistons removed so I can see it clearly.

The walls, in the skirt area, have tiny vertical lines where the skirt rides. They look as if they were drawn in with a light pencil. But you cannot feel tham at all, and you shouldnt.

Hope this helps

zeroptzero

That is exactly how I would describe them, tiny pencil lines, they don't look like gouges in the metal but lines on the surface of the metal. I only saw one cylinder as I didn't rotate the engine any further after I found the 4 hole oil jet bolt already in the engine block. I wasn't able to feel them but they simply looked like pencil lines.

I know the piston skirts rub off on the cylinder over time and some material may transfer to the cylinder walls, particularly if the pistons are coated with moly or other coatings.

Thanks for checking on that Billman250, I do appreciate the quick reply and helpful information you provide as always. I wish I lived closer to NY, I may just make a trip to NY when it comes time to do my clutch, lol.

Billman250

cool...while you wait

zeroptzero

cool, any nice sights to see in Long Island while I wait , lol

starchland

Funny was about to ask you how things looked down there and also thought about making the trek to long island if I ever needed a clutch

zeroptzero

I could probably spend more time examining the cylinders but it's so tight under the car right now I'd rather not mess around with it too much more, my nose is a few inches from the bottom of the block and the smell of used motor oil turns my stomach, lol. I also thought if the cylinders were scored/scuffed what would I do about it ? , short answer is nothing because the car still runs perfectly fine. If it starts to go south in the future I'll deal with it then.

Hey Starchland , maybe we can plan a trip to NY next summer

starchland

my thoughts as well. nothing to me smells more horrible than the smell of used diff fluid which to me smells like an olive bar