Another rings end gap question








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https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sme-90a4000

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sme-90a4120

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sme-90a4250

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tsr-rc4345-4455

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tsr-rc4455-4575
TSR-RC4455-4575_xl.jpg

having a decent set of piston ring compressors available in your tool box helps
make engine assembly far easier, using the type posted above makes the job rather easy

using the type below could make a preacher cuss up a blue streak
the #$%%^^& things are just prone to allowing rings too catch and potentially break, as they enter the bore, yeah they work at times but they are not nearly as easy or foolproof

LIL-20500_ml.jpg

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/lil-20500

these piston ring compressors don't cost much and are very versatile, but can be a P.I.T.A. to use compared to the rather limited range piston ring compressors like the upper picture
 
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https://www.totalseal.com/rings/gapless-rings
I was recently over at a buddies house/garage where he was pulling apart a recently rebuild engine that had a serious oil burning issue,
I originally expected to defective valve seals or worn valve guides but neither was the case
the indications strongly indicated ring seal failure, so we checked carefully,
the engine had brand new total seal rings installed,
and he swears he very carefully verified ring gaps.
before he had installed them on the pistons
what we found was that the rings may have been very correctly gapped but the pistons he had re-used in the build,
had about an 8 thousands clearance with the bore wall.
now to be fair this guy has very few tools and hes rather new to measuring and engine rebuilding.
he had simply removed the original pistons
honed the bore walls and installed new rings on the pistons, then reassembled and the rings never properly sealed.
one other reason I found that was a major factor was three of the top/upper rings were also installed with the wrong side facing up.
(yeah we all tend to learn the hard way at times)

always read, understand and follow the piston manufacturers guide for piston to bore clearance and how you measure that correctly
https://egge.com/info/piston_ring_installation/


Correct Compression Ring Installation

Listed below are the general rules for the installation of various types of compression rings.

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Rings having a "pip" mark or dot on the side of the ring must always be installed with the "pip" mark or dot towards the top of the piston.

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Rings with a bevel on the inside diameter but no "pip" mark or dot must be installed with the bevel towards the top of the piston.



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Rings with a groove or step in the outside diameter and no "pip" mark or dot must be installed with the groove toward the bottom of the piston.



It is a good idea after installing all rings on the pistons to recheck each ring on each piston for correct installation.

Rings having no dots, bevels, tapers, or grooves can be installed either way.
Typical Ring Types/Shapes
Top Compression Rings

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2nd Compression & Oil Control Rings
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Top of Page

Piston Ring Terminology
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links
https://enginetech.com/how-to-install-rings-blog/

http://blog.wiseco.com/how-to-file-fit-and-install-piston-rings

https://www.hastingspistonrings.com...n-ring-installation-piston-ring-assembly-tip/

https://auto.jepistons.com/je-auto-ring-installation-guide-4032-pistons

http://www.wiseco.com/PDFs/Manuals/RingEndGap.pdf



related threads
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ore-clearance-on-your-block.14251/#post-72471

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/piston-to-bore-clearance.4630/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-safe-and-correct-bore-size.14797/#post-81619

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...on-ring-info-youll-need.509/page-2#post-77508

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...tion-of-crank-durring-short-blk-assembly.852/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...g-and-installing-connecting-rods-pistons.247/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/another-rings-end-gap-question.14994/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ng-and-basic-piston-ring-info-youll-need.509/
 
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when I started building engines I purchased on of these hand crank, tools,
I rapidly found it had issues in keeping the ring end gaps parallel,
I found a carefully used DREMEL TOOL with cut off wheels and careful measuring to be a reliable route you can use:like:

obviously measure very carefully and polish off LESS on the ring end gaps than you think , you need too,
and re-measure carefully and repeat, try to match the chart recommended end gaps
if your end gaps a tiny bit too large its no major issue ,but read and pay attention too the charts and work carefully




https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MIpuDs0eDf9AIVGIiGCh3VKQvDEAQYAiABEgK8fPD_BwE
sum-906795_gk_xl.jpg






proform sells a power upgrade tool,
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now I work mostly on BBC engines and I built a custom ring square tool , out of cheap and easy to find PVC plumbing pipe adapters, (look at the pictures, rick posted,)remember it does not need to be a perfect bore diam. match too square the rings , but of course it must fit down the bore, too use when gapping rings,and on the big block engines you can build and use a custom tool like this without reducing the diam., but Rick went the extra step and built a very similar tool for his SBC projects engine

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ITS always nice to see the ideas, and designs that result, when you build custom built tools
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used carefully, and with some experience,
a dremel tool cut-off wheel can do a decent job at cutting ring end gaps
read thru these related threads, posted below, youll find a good deal of info, on installing pistons and rings.
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related threads with very useful info













 
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