[ihc] RE: spamaddy's jugs

["Jim Grammer" <jgrammer@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 21:40:27 -0600
>From: <spamaddy@domain.elided>
>Subject: [ihc] cleaning pistons and new rings

>1. I'm cleaning the pistons with parts cleaner and a metal brush, and
>scraping all the junk off until I see a shiny surface.  Is this going too
>far with the cleaning frenzy, or is it correct?

Ring grooves should also be cleaned with the special tool for same. Pistons
should be measured to make sure the skirts aren't collapsed.

>2. I ordered a piston ring kit (set of rings for 1 piston, before ordering
>for the other 7) from Napa.  The cylinder walls looked great and smooth, so
>I just used a hone to de-glaze the surface as described in the service
>manual.  I inserted the rings into the cylinder to check the gap and the
>rings were too small (the gap was larger than specified in the book).  The
>book suggests that if the gap is too small, then to try the next size ring
>until you find the right size.  Well, like most, I don't have a huge
>inventory of piston rings lying around (or maybe some of you do!).  So, is
>there a scientific way to order the right size, besides asking Napa for the
>next size larger until I find the right one?  What are the tricks?

The real trick is to measure the bore ;) Are you sure you're getting the
ring square in the bore? How much out of spec is the ring end gap? If you
knew your actual bore, you could calc the ID. The end gap you got tells you
how much too small the rings are, so you could figger how much you need to
make up to be within spec.

Jim