Is this normal?

Briggs 310707 0127-e1 16.5 ohv i/c

Received a free craftsman LT1000 that wouldnt start. Found one of the rocker mounting studs pulled through creating a hole in the head, 2 bent push rods and a head gasket leak. Took the sump off and nothing internal looks obviously bad. What did catch my eye is the cylinder bore. Looks like its full of a deep cross hatch, i can feel them with my fingers. This cant be normal, right? I know previous owner had it for 3 years and didnt touch a thing.

No. There's nothing in the cylinder that can make those kinds of scratches. That is what remains of amateur work with a too-coarse cylinder hone. Someone (previous owner to the previous owner, perhaps?) has "rebuilt" that cylinder. Lots of carbon on top of the piston, most likely from engine oil, which shouldn't be there.

cpurvis said:

No. There's nothing in the cylinder that can make those kinds of scratches. That is what remains of amateur work with a too-coarse cylinder hone. Someone (previous owner to the previous owner, perhaps?) has "rebuilt" that cylinder. Lots of carbon on top of the piston, most likely from engine oil, which shouldn't be there.

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That is what I was thinking.

Think it's possible for me to hone it properly and still use existing parts without oil burnage occurring?

Mopar4u said:

That is what I was thinking.

Think it's possible for me to hone it properly and still use existing parts without oil burnage occurring?

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Yes. Get it apart, clean things up. I would plan on a new set of rings and gaskets, though. Hone it, then check the end gap on the old rings to make sure the bore isn't worn too much. Don't go wild with the hone, either. Just enough to clean up the scratches so the new rings will seat.

This engine may have more hours on it than you think. If the bore is oversize, it may be more economical to get a replacement engine rather than boring it.