I'm tearing down a new to me block w/117k miles on it, and there is
significant cross hatching visible and no ridge at the tops of the
cylinders. (It does appear that one has been removed though) Am I correct in
reading this as a ring job done in the not too distant past? I can't find
any numbers as to how long the cross hatch pattern from honing lasts, any
info would be greatly appreciated. There is some vertical lining on the thrust side of the cylinder walls, but the cross hatching is still clearly visible. I would suspect that any marks from the
factory would be long gone at this point, correct?

Thanks in advance!

 

it means nothing, you can see cross hatch for 100s of thousands of miles. compression or leak down test would be better indication of the condition of the cylinders and engine.

 

Unfortunately I received the motor as a seperate entity, so no way to do a compression test. Best I could do was crank it by hand and go by feel. It seemed pretty decent, very defined pressure buildup in each cylinder. I'm probably going to end up doing a hone & re-ring anyhow though. Thanks very much for the info, it's greatly appreciated.

 

Bring the block to a machine shop and have them Hot tank and pressure tested. Also have the machinist look at the cylinders walls and advise you what is needed, hone or bore. Once you have these parameters than you will be able to go to the next step of builing the engine.