Cracked Piston Woes (Page 1 of 2)

Re-ring it, smooth the side down on a wire wheel, and slap it back in. 

Have you tried rock auto?

http://rockauto.com 

I just checked and they seem to have the '78 Gremlin Standard size piston for both engines in stock.  I get a lot of my stuff from them when I can't junkyard it.

+3 on RockAuto. Plus you can usually get at least a 5% discount if you dig around teh intarwebs for a promo code. Try this one:

41075533382399

It goes in the "where did you hear about us" box, I think. Good luck!

That piston will likely not last long enough to get your $$ out of the rebuild.
Spun rod bearing? you should get a crankshaft and a rod also or that all night wrench fest WILL be a reality.

Woohoo! Code worked.  They're cheaper than Oreillys but the shipping is more expensive.... About the same price.  Does shipping count against the budget??

+1 That engine will not survive. Worth an all-night thrash for fresh slugs.

Secondary question:
I'm betting the crack came from the spun bearing letting the piston bash into the cylinder wall, you can see the scratches in the picture.  Another piston has similar scratches and had a crushed bearing but no crack.  Should I replace that one too for fear it might crack as well?

Did you overheat it?

Komododave,

It looks like Rock Auto can help you.

In Houston, call the guys at Westside Performance & Machine (713) 465-7996 and see what they can come up with.

I inspected the crankshaft and there's no obvious damage to the journals.  We only ran about 5 more laps after the rod knockity awesomeness began, then we pulled out. 

This is my first full engine teardown, so anything I see out of the ordinary, I'm figuring out.  But this is Lemons, so I'm trying to stay within the spirit of the game by fixing everything I can with a minimal application of construction paper and Elmers Glue.

Honed the cylinders already and have the re-ring kit waiting in the wings.  Two cylinders fro RockAuto and 2 day shipping came to $110.  A full cylinder set would cross $300 plus pin install since I don't have a press or a blow torch.  I'm TRYING to stay within budget though I doubt they'd really hit a 40 year old car too hard with penalties, especially since our baksheesh is a Judgemobile.

What benefit does knurling give?  I don't notice any on the stock pistons.

It may be difficult to find someone that still does knurling, I haven't seen it for at least 15 years