What would you do? I broke one top ring.

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1968FormulaS340

1968FormulaS340

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In the process of cleaning I broke one top ring on one of my pistons.

(I disassembled everything for cleaning, bearing replacement, cam and lifter replacement, oil pump, gaskets.)

Cylinders were fine, I didn't have any issues with "smoking" or oil consumption before I pulled it apart.

My plan was to just re-use the old rings (only have a few thousand miles on the rings and machine work).
 
order one ring set for one piston...or buy a complete ring set..........
 
You should be able to get a set for one piston. I am confused as to why you're doing what you're doing but????
 
toolmanmike said:
You should be able to get a set for one piston. I am confused as to why you're doing what you're doing but????
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I had a roller lifter fail, the roller actually broke off the axle.

This is why I completely stripped and cleaned out the block and heads. I am also replacing any component that looks like it could have been contaminated.

Some things were obviously damaged like the bearings.

I also had a thrust issue corrected with the crank.
 
Thanks for the explanation. That's a good reason for sure. Were you running stock roller lifters?
 
toolmanmike said:
Thanks for the explanation. That's a good reason for sure. Were you running stock roller lifters?
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No, not stock. The engine is the original 340. I am unsure of the lifter brand, they were put in, in 89.

I got the car from a friend of mine that bought the car in 79. He can't remember the brand either...... 20+ years ago and we are turing into old farts, things get foggy.

Here is a pic of what I was running for lifters. I have replaced them with comp 8043 lifters.

DSC00068.jpg
 
Wouldn't matter if you didn't break any. Once you take the pistons out you are commited to replace the rings. You will never get those rings back to where they were seated. Get a ball hone scratch the bores and replace all the rings. Also while its apart check the trust bearing play and plasti-guage the rods and mains . Replace the Core plugs and oil pump.melling $32 dollars its a no brainer. Then you know its fresh again.

No matter what any one tells you never reuse rings. I learned that when I was 12. Also end gap the new ones going in.
 
I'd re-ring all 8. You already have the engine torn down, and rings are inexpensive.
 
Oldmanmopar said:
Wouldn't matter if you didn't break any. Once you take the pistons out you are commited to replace the rings. You will never get those rings back to where they were seated. Get a ball hone scratch the bores and replace all the rings. Also while its apart check the trust bearing play and plasti-guage the rods and mains . Replace the Core plugs and oil pump.melling $32 dollars its a no brainer. Then you know its fresh again.

No matter what any one tells you never reuse rings. I learned that when I was 12. Also end gap the new ones going in.
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Thanks for that, I have actually done all the things you listed except dealing with the the rings.

You are right.

At this point a quick hone and fresh rings will be quick and easy, I may as will just do it.
 
Oldmanmopar said:
Wouldn't matter if you didn't break any. Once you take the pistons out you are commited to replace the rings. You will never get those rings back to where they were seated. Get a ball hone scratch the bores and replace all the rings. Also while its apart check the trust bearing play and plasti-guage the rods and mains . Replace the Core plugs and oil pump.melling $32 dollars its a no brainer. Then you know its fresh again.
No matter what any one tells you never reuse rings. I learned that when I was 12. Also end gap the new ones going in.
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X2
breakstuff said:
I'd re-ring all 8. You already have the engine torn down, and rings are inexpensive.
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X2 again
 
LOL, It's easy to get lazy when you get older. I knew what the right thing to do was, I just didn't feel like doing it.

Thanks all for getting me re-focused.
 
You'll be surprised at how much power a whole set of fresh rings will produce.
 
Actually you can reuse the rings with low mileage like that as long as they go back in the same cylinder. I used to think you couldn't do it either but then when I worked at a Ford dealer they had problems with their straight sixes using oil because the ring end gaps were all lined up. There was a recall to pull the head and pop the pistons out of the cylinder and reclock the ring end gaps. Put it all back together and every thing was fine. That recall paid like 5.5 hours and I was doing them in 2.5 so it was good money.

I have since done it on my race motors if they had to come apart early for whatever reason. Now if you had 30K or so on it I'd have the machine shop hone it and put new rings in it. Those dingle ball hones aren't worth a crap.
 
The dingle ball hone as you call it is only to be used for scratching a glazed cyl. not to power hone.

Don't care what ford did to save millions on rings. Once they are seated in one clocked position they will wear all over to seat in another,. How many times can a set of rings be seated with out affecting their longevity.

Cylinders are not the same wall thickness all the way around unless they are sleeved. I have had a lot of engines sonic tested. All small blocks I had sonic tested in the past had different thicknesses from side to side . -1 and -2 blocks are the better of all blocks. -6 and up are the worst. When the motor gets heat in it the cylinders will take different shapes. The rings will wear into this specific shape per cylinder and their clocking is specific to how they wore into the cylinder they were in. Change the clock and change the wear shape of the rings. A sleaved motor is more forgiving because the cylinder stays true when heated.



Guitar Jones said:
Actually you can reuse the rings with low mileage like that as long as they go back in the same cylinder. I used to think you couldn't do it either but then when I worked at a Ford dealer they had problems with their straight sixes using oil because the ring end gaps were all lined up. There was a recall to pull the head and pop the pistons out of the cylinder and reclock the ring end gaps. Put it all back together and every thing was fine. That recall paid like 5.5 hours and I was doing them in 2.5 so it was good money.

I have since done it on my race motors if they had to come apart early for whatever reason. Now if you had 30K or so on it I'd have the machine shop hone it and put new rings in it. Those dingle ball hones aren't worth a crap.
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just an off topic question - but do you guys really think that a piston ring does not rotate?
 
I would think they rotate. I had my 340 out for some work and pulled one piston and reinstalled it, engine never smokes or uses any oil, it was a newer rebuild too.
 
If they didn't rotate, if you took a high mileage engine apart there would be noticeable grooves where the ring end gaps were stationary for say 100,000 miles just like the bore wear at the top of the cylinder, maybe not quite as much, but noticeable.
 
two strokes are pinned never saw a grove on any from the end gaps. Did hundreds.

Dartnut said:
If they didn't rotate, if you took a high mileage engine apart there would be noticeable grooves where the ring end gaps were stationary for say 100,000 miles just like the bore wear at the top of the cylinder, maybe not quite as much, but noticeable.
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They rotate. I don't agree at all with the idea that they wear to the bore distortion. Bores bores do have different shapes, and core changes (the -# after the casting number) mean little in regard to the casting quality block to block. The ring and piston package is designed to work within a certain amount of surface variation. Consider the engines honed wihtout a torque plate and the associated distortion there. They ran fine, just not as good as a true, straight, round bore. You can reuse rings, but after a failure that had steel particles in the oil, I wouldnt.
 
Oldmanmopar said:
two strokes are pinned never saw a grove on any from the end gaps. Did hundreds.
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2 stroke rings have to be pinned otherwise, as they want to rotate, the ring ends will run in the exhaust and transfer port areas giving you ring clip and broken rings. Did hundreds also.
 
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