Sonic Thickness Tester for Engine Cylinder Walls

[bulletpruf]

I'm rebuilding a Ford 7.3 IDI turbo engine, and would like to do a garage rebuild -- rings, bearings, etc. - as long as the bore taper is reasonable. These engines were known for cavitation so I'd like to test the thickness of the cylinder walls once it's torn down.

It seems that Dakota Ultrasonics is a good brand name, but I'm hesitant to shell out $500 or more on a used one. There are dozens of options on cheap ones, but the reviews are iffy and they usually come with a flat faced probe that won't work well on a curved cylinder wall.

Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks

 

[Walkers]

Don’t cheap out on the cylinders, it will only cause you pain. Take it don and have it bored and hone for the pistons, then just have them test it, it will probably be not too much more than the used tester.

 

[bulletpruf]

Don’t cheap out on the cylinders, it will only cause you pain. Take it don and have it bored and hone for the pistons, then just have them test it, it will probably be not too much more than the used tester.

I have built a number of engines that got the full treatment at the machine shop, but the plan is to build this one in the garage, no machine work. Nothing wrong with going this route on a budget build if the bores are in spec.

 

[cvairwerks]

Check around at one of the test equipment rental places. May be cheaper even with the shipping to rent one for the week.

 

[dnschmidt]

If it's a "budget build" how does paying a shitload of money for a tool you'll use very little make sense when you could subcontract the work to someone, like a machine shop, that has such a tool for a fraction of the cost. Pay them to measure the thickness and decide what you want to do from there.

 

[bulletpruf]

Check around at one of the test equipment rental places. May be cheaper even with the shipping to rent one for the week.

Didn't realize it was possible to rent one. I'll check. Thanks

 

[bulletpruf]

If it's a "budget build" how does paying a shitload of money for a tool you'll use very little make sense when you could subcontract the work to someone, like a machine shop, that has such a tool for a fraction of the cost. Pay them to measure the thickness and decide what you want to do from there.

Prices on these start at about $50. That's definitely not a shitload. But I was hoping to find someone who had experience with an inexpensive one before I spent the $.

In addition to the machine shop cost (I think I paid $150 last time I had one done), I'd also have to get the block to the machine shop. I would need to rent or borrow a truck and it's an hour each way.

 

[dnschmidt]

I know nothing about the tool you mentioned but I know a hell of a lot about paint thickness gauges as that's my thing. The ones that are based on magnetism are relatively inexpensive. The ones that also work on aluminum are somewhat more expensive but the DeFelsko based on sonic measurements cost a couple of thousand dollars. The difference in this case is that the sonic ones can tell you the thickness of each layer of paint. Primer, sealer, basecoat and clearcoat whereas the other type only gives you the thickness of the entire coating on top of the metal.

 

[Packard V8]

The inexpensive Chicom sonic testers off the web can be made to work. I hold a piece of sandpaper inside the cylinder and sand the probe to match the contour. I've found them to be reasonably accurate.

Pro tip - buy a quart bottle of mineral oil and a small plastic squirt bottle.

jack vines

 

[bulletpruf]

The inexpensive Chicom sonic testers off the web can be made to work. I hold a piece of sandpaper inside the cylinder and sand the probe to match the contour. I've found them to be reasonably accurate.

Pro tip - buy a quart bottle of mineral oil and a small plastic squirt bottle.

jack vines

I can live with reasonably accurate.

 

[bulletpruf]

I ended up finding a used Dakota Ultrasonics MX2 for $185 on eBay. I think these sell for a little over $1,000 new. It turns on, but haven't tested it yet.

The transducer is too large to measure curved items like a cylinder wall, so I need to source a smaller and/or curved one.

 

[toplessHO]

find a scrap block
measure at the bottom of bore then middle
drill hole and measure to check your new tool
1" down in bore is where the most wear is

 

[Old hand]

I

I'm rebuilding a Ford 7.3 IDI turbo engine, and would like to do a garage rebuild -- rings, bearings, etc. - as long as the bore taper is reasonable. These engines were known for cavitation so I'd like to test the thickness of the cylinder walls once it's torn down.

It seems that Dakota Ultrasonics is a good brand name, but I'm hesitant to shell out $500 or more on a used one. There are dozens of options on cheap ones, but the reviews are iffy and they usually come with a flat faced probe that won't work well on a curved cylinder wall.

Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks

Is that a 7.3 power stroke ?

 

[bulletpruf]

I

Is that a 7.3 power stroke ?

It's a 7.3 IDI diesel. Installed in F250/F350 from 1983-1994. Replaced by the Power Stroke in mid-1994.

 

[bulletpruf]

Damn. Looks like I got the wrong one. Spoke with Rich at Dakota Ultrasonics - he said I bought the wrong one. He said the unit I have is really for looking for corrosion, like in an oilfield pipe, and would be too sensitive to use for cylinder wall use because it would pick up the grain structure. He said I could measure a known distance of cast iron and I would then have to plug it in to a computer to calibrate it (it did come with a cord).

He said the unit they produced specifically for this purpose is the PR-82 (old version) or PR-9 (new version).

He did say that the transducer I would need if I wanted to try my MX-2 on cylinder walls is the 1/2” T-104-2120 Cylinder Probe for $305.00. I'm not inclined to purchase one unless I can find it cheap.

Rich said I should easily be able to recoup my expenditure if I threw this back up on eBay.

 

[karajaisari]

Don't skimp on the cylinders; doing so will just make things worse. Just have it tested with an SEOtoolsystem after having it bored and honed for the pistons; it probably won't cost much more than the secondhand tester.