docmirror

I agree, but I already know what he's gonna say. It's been picked up, the bill is paid, take it to court. So he goes to court, takes his block in, takes a few other examples in, wins his case, tries to collect, spends more time and money an never gets satisfaction.

docmirror

I know this is blasphemy, but really, all you need is one bore fixed. I would investigate having the piston and rings made, then bore to match and move on. Now that I know you have no pistons, that could make a difference, you can investigate all kinds of alternatives. But remember, you have 7 good bores now, and 1 bad. Think about it.

BC

I think its worth a shot.

RichieP

Brendan - As much as I'd like to I was told it's not a good idea to go with aftermarket pistons for 2 reason. 1. Different expansion rate and 2. Getting the piston sized correctly AFTER the Nikasil is done is difficult to do.

Hacker- I sent the block to 928M who took it to US Nicom. Carl looked at the pic and felt that break in would take care of it. I trust Carl but it just looks so different from the rest of the cylinders that I'm concerned I'll have problems down the road.

Giovanni

I would also trust him but what if the break in does not take care of this? Would it be easier to get the block fix then or would it be easier to do it now?

RichieP

I don't think there would be a problem getting the block repaired by US NiCom if they agree that it wasn't done right. My question is how do I determine if it is ok or needs to be repaired? Maybe I should consult a local machine shop.

BC

Thats what Swaintech skirt coatings are for. That adds about 300 bucks though.

Even without that, I think its entirely possible. Hopefully the pistons were insured for shipping. The different expansion rate, while true, is not so great in the 4xxx series material JE uses. Its not an issue with all these other motors - why not believe them?

It seems like unless you want to wait to find a tol 1 set, it may be a good direction to go.

RichieP

Brendan - Has anyone reported their experience using forged pistons (good or bad) with this Swaintech coating in a Nikasil plated Alusil block?

mark kibort

I have a question. why didnt you just bore out the block or just due the Alusil process? if you had to bore it to the next diameter pistons, why not just alusil it again and use porsche pistons? (the ones you had or the next group)?

The holbert/Rennlist 6.5 liter stroker block is nicasiled and isusing JE pistons. I think the only trick was finding the right rings for the coating. the oil control ring was a major concern, but the guys from GreenBay have figured it out. news coming soon!

Mk

RichieP

Mark - I went with the Nikasil finish so I could reuse the stock pistons. Now that the pistons are damaged I need to replace them to use the newly refinished block. FYI Alusil is not a process, it's the material the block is made of.

Thanks for the info on the Holbert car, I'll do a search on it to get more info on it. I've heard the same thing about running rings made of a different material in Nikasil bores. I read about it on a 911 website.

BC

The Swaintech coatings are so good for the skirts that 944 turbo people have used normal Wiseco (similar to JE) pistons in ALUSIL bores, but I don't talk about that here much. Too much naysayer stuff.

Forged alloy pistons in a nikasil bore is the proper combo. Nikasil is a compatible material for uncoated aluminum pistons, and the skirt coating can help you with any clearance issues (well, not ANY, but know know what I mean) in the fitting of the pistons.

BC

On any 911 site that talks about "nickie" or similar - thats now the surface you have. Straight aluminum pistons with no coating are just fine.

RichieP

Mark - If by Alusil process you mean bore and properly hone it to use the Alusil bore without Nikasil then I considered it. I just couldn't find anyone that could say for a fact that it worked with aftermarket pistons and I didn't want to be a guiena pig. A local machine shop said they had success with boring an Aluminum alloy Mercedes block but the customer supplied the pistons so the shop didn't know anything about the pistons ie. who made them or what they were coated with.

RichieP

Brandon - I remember reading something about that on the SwainTech website. Did JE offer the SwainTech coating or did you buy the pistons and ship them to SwainTech yourself? How exactly does the skirt coating help with clearance issues?

mark kibort

Im confused. I thought the reason you would do the alusil process. (yes, i know it well. the honing and silicon paste process of cylinderwall preperation), was so that you COULD use the stock pistons. did you use the nickasil, so you could do a deeper hone and then use the plating process to fill back in the material removed?

I didnt know there was an issue with rings in an nicasil block, but i guess there are some important considerations. material, ring spring tension, etc.
Todd and Tim have found a way to make this work with the JE pistons and the nicasil'ed block. probably something like what Greg Brown has been doing with Joe Fan's block.

Its all voodoo magic to me. I just like assembling all stock porsche stuff. then you know it all works together and there is little guess work


mk