Originally posted by powelldsOk, thanks for the help. Also, I was looking at my JE pistons and JE rings, I'm kinda lost when it comes to putting the rings on, it says I have to gap the rings or something?? Am I supposed to file something on them?? I have the 8.8:1 pistons and am going to run 10 and 15 lbs of boost. Do I just put the rings on, or do something else, it's really the only thing I don't understand.
After the block is bored/honed to the proper Ra finish for the type of ring you are using and is cleaned to absolutely spotless condition, you want to check the fit of the ring(s) in the bore that they will be used in. You do this by putting them in from the bottom of the cylinder about a 1/2" from the bottom, turn an old flat-top piston upside down, gently lower it into the cylinder and use it as a guide to make sure the ring is sitting square in the bore as it would when installed (you want to be at the bottom because this will be the tightest fit), then measure the ring gap with a feeler gauge. Compare that to service manual specs or to the ring manufacturer's spec, if given. IF it needs filing to get it to size, file in one direction only and that is inwards!!: inwards toward the center. This prevents breaking off the outside finish on the ring. Go slow and don't over-do it. Clean and re-measure. Once all the rings are measured and assigned to a specific bore (Yes, there will be slight differences in bore size even with the best of machinery...don't ask me how I know....lol), make sure the cylinders are spotless, and you can start assembly: the bottom oil spacer ring goes on first, then the top land ring for that spacer, the bottom land for the spacer, then the 2nd compression ring and finally the top ring. Stagger the gaps of each ring such that the top ring and the 2nd ring are 180 degrees opposite each other, same with the other ones. Once everything is assembled and the gaps are placed right, oil the cylinder, dump the piston head in oil, put the ring compressor on and gently tap into the bore. IF it should hang up, do NOT force it, back off and start over. A lot of times, the machine shop will forget to chamfer the top of the cylinders after bore/honing and you will have to do it with a fine round file and some emergy cloth (put gray tape on the file end so you don't accidently gouge a nice new bore (don't ask me how I know this....lol). A good shop manual is a must for this kind of stuff unless you just got tons of experience and do it everyday for a living.....
Search
Printer-friendly copy
1 User in Chat
