ring gap
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2007
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RE: ring gap
gottahavit Mine were .015 top and .013 second, I decided to put new in New were .015 top and .010 bottom right out of the wrapper. Probably could have reused the origonal's but did it for peace of mind. Now I'll have to baby it for couple hundred miles[:@]
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Cruiser
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RE: ring gap
Well I took my pistons down to Rolands Motor Works to get new rings but all they had were + .005 so Roland called around for me and there was not a single set of standard rings to be found anywhere including 3 dealerships. He said they are hard to find because most would put in a set of + .005 and hand file to get the right gap. He also said my old rings were just fine. so I am going to go ahead and use the old ones.
Now I have another problem. What is the trick to getting the new piston pin clips in?????? On the older bikes I have had there was a triangular type clip that was pretty easy to get in. Do I need to borrow a special tool from one of my indy buds?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Joe
PS I forgot to mention that these clips are rounded over to fit the groove. 89 Evo.
Now I have another problem. What is the trick to getting the new piston pin clips in?????? On the older bikes I have had there was a triangular type clip that was pretty easy to get in. Do I need to borrow a special tool from one of my indy buds?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Joe
PS I forgot to mention that these clips are rounded over to fit the groove. 89 Evo.
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2007
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RE: ring gap
There probably is a tool for this job, I am going to roll a piece of alum flashing up that is the same size as the bore in the piston,wrap it with tape to hold it's form then load my clip into the roll as close to the end as possible, place next to the piston and from the other end push it into place. Should work?
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Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2007
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RE: ring gap
ORIGINAL: 94Dan69
There probably is a tool for this job, I am going to roll a piece of alum flashing up that is the same size as the bore in the piston,wrap it with tape to hold it's form then load my clip into the roll as close to the end as possible, place next to the piston and from the other end push it into place. Should work?
There probably is a tool for this job, I am going to roll a piece of alum flashing up that is the same size as the bore in the piston,wrap it with tape to hold it's form then load my clip into the roll as close to the end as possible, place next to the piston and from the other end push it into place. Should work?
I just put one clip in each piston in under 5 minutes so it does work great. My motor is still in the frame so hopefully when I put the other clips in it will go as easy. The pipe should help prevent the clip from taking off into space.
Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2007
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RE: ring gap
I'm not quite sure I understand. You are trying to decide if you need new rings by the end gap? The end gap measurement is to ensure with new rings that they do not bind, in other words the end does not touch each other when installed. I admit to not be on the cutting edge with technology, but I have rebuild engines since the 70's and never applied that ring end gap to determine wear. I go by cylinder wear, appearance, and mileage when I have the engine apart to determine if I need to just rehone and install new rings, or bore the cylinder. The ring end gap is a minimun spec, meaning too large (to a point) is not a problem. I'm not sure what they meant by "looked at the rings and they were fine". There is not alot to see by looking at rings, you need to look at the cylinder walls to determine if just a honing will clean them up or a rebore is necessary. Also, I have just rehoned the cylinders with new standard size rings many times, and have never seen a shortage of standard evo rings, but I do buy after market, as most dealers anymore don't do many rebuilds on Evos and rings for them are not really a commonly stocked part anymore. If you have already removed your rings from the pistons, I would replace them.
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Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2007
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RE: ring gap
ORIGINAL: bigtone
I'm not quite sure I understand. You are trying to decide if you need new rings by the end gap? The end gap measurement is to ensure with new rings that they do not bind, in other words the end does not touch each other when installed. I admit to not be on the cutting edge with technology, but I have rebuild engines since the 70's and never applied that ring end gap to determine wear. I go by cylinder wear, appearance, and mileage when I have the engine apart to determine if I need to just rehone and install new rings, or bore the cylinder. The ring end gap is a minimun spec, meaning too large (to a point) is not a problem. I'm not sure what they meant by "looked at the rings and they were fine". There is not alot to see by looking at rings, you need to look at the cylinder walls to determine if just a honing will clean them up or a rebore is necessary. Also, I have just rehoned the cylinders with new standard size rings many times, and have never seen a shortage of standard evo rings, but I do buy after market, as most dealers anymore don't do many rebuilds on Evos and rings for them are not really a commonly stocked part anymore. If you have already removed your rings from the pistons, I would replace them.
I'm not quite sure I understand. You are trying to decide if you need new rings by the end gap? The end gap measurement is to ensure with new rings that they do not bind, in other words the end does not touch each other when installed. I admit to not be on the cutting edge with technology, but I have rebuild engines since the 70's and never applied that ring end gap to determine wear. I go by cylinder wear, appearance, and mileage when I have the engine apart to determine if I need to just rehone and install new rings, or bore the cylinder. The ring end gap is a minimun spec, meaning too large (to a point) is not a problem. I'm not sure what they meant by "looked at the rings and they were fine". There is not alot to see by looking at rings, you need to look at the cylinder walls to determine if just a honing will clean them up or a rebore is necessary. Also, I have just rehoned the cylinders with new standard size rings many times, and have never seen a shortage of standard evo rings, but I do buy after market, as most dealers anymore don't do many rebuilds on Evos and rings for them are not really a commonly stocked part anymore. If you have already removed your rings from the pistons, I would replace them.
Anyway. the cylinders, pistons and rings were all miked up. There was still strong evidence of the cross hatching still present. Mileage was unknown. I am not basing the condition of the motor solely on the piston ring gap. I have a new set of rings on the way just to be on the side of caution. I thank you for your response.
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Novice
Joined: Nov 2006
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RE: ring gap
for my evo - with S&S specs on a bored stroker the spec is .017-.035 on ring gap. The point is, as stated above, to NOT be too tight. Mine went in at .017 top and .014 bottom and I had no problems...though I worried about breaking a ring - I left it.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Bluffton, South Carolina
RE: ring gap
As long as you have the motor apart why not hit the cylinders with a dingleball hone to break the glaze and put some new ring in?? We use the Total Seal Gappless ring set. They come in a file to fit set so that you can set the ring gap to their specs. After you break the rings in you will see 2% or less leakdown which is much less than standard rings and they last longer too. It is a win winw situation.