what to do gapping rings

hellmet

hellmet

Member
i have 59a block standerd bore its a nice block but the guy i got it from said it smoked he gave me a new set of rings what should i gap them at? we honed it aleady looks like new' i putg one of the new rings in to fit it it had a 16th gap or should i get over sized rings and grind them?i dont want to bore the block. thanks billy
 
Rule of thumb is to set ring gaps at .003-.004 per inch of bore, set to smallest portion of bore. So, your 3 3/16" bore flathead should have about .010-.013 ring gap at the bottom [least worn portion] of the bore and depending on amount of taper in bore will have more at top.
 
The large ring end gap won't create much of a problem. However, the previous contributor made a point of mentioning the bore taper which can be a problem. If you have minimal taper, and the modern, 3 piece oil rings, put her together.
 
I remember being taught as an apprentice 0.003 per inch plus an extra 0.003 (& obviously stagger the gaps around the bore).
 
.016 won't bother, I had a ring rep tell me one time that if you have .040 you wouldn't know the differance. As they say above, check at the bottom of the hole, should be at least 13-.014 at the bottom. Of couuse if you've alot of tapper in the cyl and quite a wide gap at the top the rings won't last as long as they would with a straight cyl. but the'll last quite depending on your amount of driveing in these old fillers. Walt
 
You will be fine with the end gap. The "sae" specs are more geared toward a minimum gap as opposed to a max gap.Be more concerned on how you clean the cylinder walls after the honing process.
 
He said the gap is a "16th" which typically means one sixteenth of an inch which we know equals 0.062. If true, might make a adifference.
Floyd
 
What kind of piston to cylinder wall clearance are you going to have with .o60
end gap? Seems like that would work out to .013 clearance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top