Re-Ringing pistons Questions

[b00stcreep21]

I can honestly tell you that it will almost be as much work to pull the head off, as compared to pulling out the motor. It's really not that hard. Do it right the first time so you don't shoot yourself in the foot later on down the road. Pull it out and bring the block to the machine shop....

[Onefast99gsx]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.. Last Thursday night I finally did a leak down test. I used a 100psi for my input source. I had a 10% loss in 2 cylinders, 4% loss in a cylinder and the #2 cylinder was the worst at 25% loss. That would clearly explain why the dipstick is shooting out. I want to re-ring it but I wish I could do something else while I was in there like changing the puny 2g rods. Nobody seems to make an aftermarket rod for the stock pistons though. Any rod I've seen is for a floating type wrist pin. Can't afford a complete rebuilt of a 6 bolt anytime soon. Was hoping to just change the 2g rods for added insurance.

[Pushit2.0]

Try a new dipstick then, 25% is not that bad.

~John

[Onefast99gsx]

Really, 25% isn't bad? On the instructions of the MAC Tools tester, I believe it said anything over 10% is cause for concern.

I did buy a brand new dipstick last fall. Boosted her to about 26psi again and it popped out spewing oil all over the motor again. I was not happy. For the last race, I wired it in there so it wouldn't come out but that was merely a bandaid fix. I want to fix the source of the problem.

Believe me, I don't even want to re-ring the motor! Just seems like alot of work for what the project actually is. I thought about putting bigger fittings on the valve cover like a 6 or 8AN fitting size and into a different catch can than what i have. Any thoughts on this?

[tim]

25% is not that good. 10% is normal and anything more than 20% should be addressed, especially in a performance car. The biggest thing, like compression, is that you dont want a huge difference between cylinders.

My old s10 had 80% leakage in one cylinder, but I really didnt give a shit cause it still ran great.:)



Just curious, was it leaking through the rings? Did you check to see where the air was escaping from? I would assume it was rings cause the whole dipstick ordeal but it could be other things.

[Onefast99gsx]

I'm going to retest the #2 cylinder. I did another compression test tonight with the engine slightly warm. I came up with:

#1 150
#2 143
#3 149
#4 155

I have a hard time believing that #2 would be 25% loss and still be fairly close in compression to the other cylinders.

[tim]

I'm going to retest the #2 cylinder. I did another compression test tonight with the engine slightly warm. I came up with:

#1 150
#2 143
#3 149
#4 155

I have a hard time believing that #2 would be 25% loss and still be fairly close in compression to the other cylinders.

It can happen. Compression is rather confusing.

While you are doing your next leak down test look for the leaks. If your coolant is bubbling, then you know what to look for. If you are hearing a hissing through the exhaust or intake then you have a burned valve.... You know the drill, find out where this leakage is present. It will tell you a lot about your engine.

[Onefast99gsx]

Hey guys- I just talked to a guy today over email. He knows a few things but he's not an engine genius. He's got me all worried now that re-ringing my motor might not do anything for me. As a matter of fact, he said it might make it worse because you have to hone it out. The head is off, pistons will come out over the weekend. The walls look beautiful. Still has a very nice cross hatch pattern even after like 90k miles. You think re-ringing is a waste of time and can make my blowby even worse? I really don't want to get buried in this project by having to get it bored out, new pistons, rods, bearings etc. The most I wanted to do is buy rings and rod bearings.

What are your thoughts or experiences on re-ringing a motor? Did it help or make it worse.

Thanks.

[Onefast99gsx]

Just talked to a more experienced person. He said once i get the pistons out, get the bore gauge from my local machine shop and check for taper. If they are good, then he said don't worry. Honing, takes out very minimal. It's only to remove the glazing mostly. I would have to think my cyls are good because i rotated the motor over and the cyls don't have a single score mark. Still have nice hatch patterns even after 90k miles.

[Goat Blower]

Follow the second person. Putting in new rings even with a rehone is just fine if scoring is minimal, which it usually is. I've seen virtually no wear on motors with over 150K miles on them.