I’ve gathered chrome rings are the hardest to seat. Any tips for installation to aid in seating them? ie, lubrication, any special technique of install, how to break them in, etc?
Also, what are the specs for the bolts to hold the engine onto the engine stand?
Ring Gap
Our method may be the same as Hondas, but here goes. Holding the piston so that the exhaust side (with the reflector groove) is 12 o’clock, we put the oil expander gap at 7:30. The lower oil rail goes at 7:00 and the upper goes at 8:00. The gap in the second ring goes at 1:30 - 2:00 and the gap in the top ring goes at 10:00 to 10:30.
Note that we’re placing the gaps of the compression rings on the exhaust side of the piston, is it’s the secondary thrust axis and the forces are much less prone to make the ring ends to dig into the cylinder. Use a liberal spraying of WD-40 on the rings prior to placing the piston into the ring compressor. Make dead sure the compressor sits absolutely square on the top of the cylinders before shoving the pistons in…also make sure you don’t rotate the compressor on the piston, as it’ll move the end gaps. Endyn board
Oil Break In
Here is a quote from Road & Track, July 2000 issue regarding the permanent change that can occur when mineral oil is used to break-in an engine.
"Redline, on the other hand, has found it best to recommend a mineral oil break-in. Occasionally an engine will glaze its cylinder walls when initially run on Redline, they say, so by using a mineral oil for 2000 miles, verifying there is no oil consumption and then switching to the synthetic, glazing is eliminated.
Cylinder-wall glazing is not a deposit left on the cylinder wall, but rather a displacement of cylinder-wall metal. This happens when the high spots of the cylinder wall crosshatch are not cut or worn off by the piston rings, but rather rolled over into the valleys or grooves of the crosshatch. This leaves a surface that oil adheres to poorly, against which the rings cannot seal well. Compression is lost and oil consumed, and the only cure is to tear down the engine to physically restore the cylinder-wall finish by honing."
In other words use a mineral base oil.
wheo…awesome stuff Marc…
Thanx…
MORE MORE!!!
Engine stand bolts
22mm
1.25 pitch (thread size)
don’t know what length…get some spacers
Straight from the mouth of the head tech at Acura/Subaru…
Going for chrome rings eh? Good stuff man. As long as your cylinder walls aren’t chromed, you’ll be alright…hahah :p.
I don’t think there’s too much else too add, Marc got most of it. Like mentioned before, be sure to use mineral oil during the break in period, so the rings will seat correctly and you’ll get a good seal. Glazing is the last thing you want to happen after you’ve gone and redone your rings and whatnot.
I would also do some reasearch and find out how many hours or km’s you should run the mineral oil. After that, you can go back to good old regular or synthetic oil, whatever you like to use.(as long as it’s AD oil and not mineral again…
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you can use your tranny bolts to hold your motor to the stand. as for assembly, spray some wd-40 down the bores & then wipe it off to ensure that they are clean & free from debris. then lube the bores & coat the pistons with motor oil. slap everything together & run it for about 100 miles, then change your oil with some more mineral oil & run it for 400-900 miles (depending on how anal you are). rings will be set by then, & then you can change out to synthetic oil now if you choose, but i think if you stay on top of your oil changes, mineral oil will be fine.
anything else to cover?
^
That is some hella good info, we should hella archivethis, I hella hope he has some more. Do I say hella too much?
also, what material are OEM rings? Are they chrome, or cast?
I always recommend that people use the stock honda rings when rebuilding. Stock honda rings are chromoly. And yes, if you don’t break in your engine properly, the rings may not seal. That and the machine shop needs to insure that you have the proper crosshatch hone pattern which is detailed in the Helms manual. Best of luck.
what is the break in period? how many miles, or kms?
Many people have different takes on what the proper break in period is, but I usually keep the revs down (after the initial ring seating pulls) till 700 miles. The ring seating pulls are pulls up to 50mph with fairly high revving, and then letting the gears slow you back down. Repeat about three times. Then after the first 100 miles, change your oil and filter. Make sure you use 10w-30 Standard Grade oil. Valvoline All Climate is my personal choice.
I just want to be clear, when you guys say break in with mineral oil, do you mean non-synthetic, petroleum based oil?