2G Are these Arias 86mm pistons salvageable

[cswindel]

I was debating whether or not to start a thread over this, however, I am curious if these specific pistons with the type of damage they have are able to be saved. I figure this will offer a future resource on top of what is already out there to those looking into these pistons or if someone faces similar damage to their pistons.

Bottoms line: can these pistons be saved and if so by what means and what caused the damaged (I believe contaminants in the oil)

I know it seems extreme but I have seen threads where people claim pistons with worse damage can be saved so I want to see what the concensus on these are. I do not see any cracks upon initial inspection just what is depicted.
Additional information/pictures can be found in the build thread.

Thank you all

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

I could save them and run them. Take them to a bench wire wheel and wire wheel the crap out of them. When doing the sides/skirts, always go with the "grain" of the oil retaining grooves so you don't take them out, they are there for a reason so always clean them by going AROUND the piston skirts. The one piston that has scoring and pecking on the top outer edge, just above the 1st ring is the worst thing to save. Wire wheel it and see how the peck marks look/feel. It may require a little emory cloth to clean that up. The other pecks should be dressed with a dremel to take out the pointy edges to keep from having hot spots. If I were rich, I would just save them for a rainy day and buy new, but they look like they can be salvaged. I would give it a shot.
Strange that Arias uses a ring groove spacer on the second ring.

 

[97egl]

I'd clean them up as marty said and run them. The damage to them would not have been caused by contaminants in the oil. Somehow debris entered the cylinder. Could have came through the intake or if you swapped injectors debris could have fell through the injector holes or same thing if you changed spark plugs. But since it was on 2 cylinders my guess would be it came through the throttle body and was distributed to multiple cylinders.

 

[bastarddsm]

Don't wire wheel the skirts. Make sure the ring grooves are not cashed. And make sure you can get a ring set for them. That looks like an oddball size ring pack. They came from total seal.

 

[cswindel]

Thank you all for the suggestions and advice! The car was built in Puerto Rico so I have no history and as I tore it apart I found more and more questionable things about the build. I do plan to buy new Nippon pistons as a backup but I will see what I can salvage from the Arias and if I can find the ring set. Maybe the machine shop can provide additional service when I take the block, head, crank and pistons to them. Thank you again.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Nippon and Nippon Racing are 2 different things. Nippon pistons will be cast. Nippon Racing would be the better company (if they offer 4g63 pistons) but there are plenty of piston manufacturers.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[cswindel]

I was unaware of the difference thank you for that. The ones I am looking at are cast even though they say Nippon Racing (#63DTF1 on piston face). I'm only shooting for 300-350hp initially since it's my first engine rebuild and DSM. Want to focus on a quality rebuild and maintaining the car and will put better parts in later. Just don't want to spend too much considering my experience and power goal. With people running around this power level on stock cast pistons would there be any limitations that are notable for the cast Nippons? Thanks again.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

I have a 6 bolt with Nippon pistons in it and it is a good replacement (OEM type) piston. I don't have any bad experiences with them but did want you to know that there is a difference. My other 4g motors all have Manely, Eagle, Weisco stuff in them.
Here is a build sheet from that build with Nippon pistons.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[DrewmHolland]

the skirts seem fine they just have regular wear for maybe 10k miles and the tops of the pistons don't look good but it should have absolutely no effect on performance if they have some small divots in them, just make sure to sand away anything sticking out because it could potentially become a Hot Spot and cause some knocking.

 

[cswindel]

All good information especially that build sheet! The information is very much appreciated and I'll take it into consideration moving forward. Those Arias may see another chance!

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Those specs were for a basic stock upgraded motor just so you know. More boost, more ring gap and forged stuff.