Piston Rings

[1951 adam]

I measured my cylinders and pistons, They were in spec, standard bore 74/ I ball honed the cylinders and they have a clean cross hatch. I could not find any manufacturers mark at all on the pistons, I orderd a set of Hastings std rings, THe end gap was in spec, and the side clearence was good....SURPRISE, always the surprise, the oil control wave ring DOES NOT FIT ...OK . plan B, I installed the old ones with the new oil control rings...SURPRISE 2....they were maybe a 64th wider and I could not fit my cylinders over them, I guess they were desinged to work with the spacer from the set....DAMN...PLAN C...clean up the old oil rings and hope I put them in there original positions....ANY way , I installed my cylinders...Turned the engine by hand and all seems good...BUT ALL IS NOT GOOD, I DONT FEEL RIGHT ABOUT RUNNING OLD OIL CONTROL RINGS...and not knowing if they are in there original positions ...IS REALLY THE PROBLEM FOR ME .DOES ANYONE FOR SEE THIS AS A PROBLEM ? the compression rings are new... I'm on a bit of a budget, and even though I want to get this thing together.....anyone have any thoughts on this?

[partshunt]

Well, since you had it apart and honed the cylinder walls, ring position is irrelevent now and they will reseat after some running time. Anytime you pull the pistons, the rings will never be in the same position again. they will move a bit or lots after removed. even if they moved .005" sideways, thats a new position for break in. There really wont be any problems useing the old oil rings, PROVIDED AS FOLLOWS:- A- the rings still have plenty of material on them for long life. B- they were never overstrssed when you removed them, they must still maintain original form and noticeable tension on the expanders, (3 pc. oil rings) . C- You are happy with the ring gap on the expanders, you can get away with a bit more than normal as the gaps are stagered 1/4 to 1/2 turn apart. D- you have properly staggered all the rings on assembly. I always install the top compression ring to the rear, (thrust side) so the rings lands are over the top ring gap as much possible so that when the piston bears rearward over the gap during the power stroke downward. Run the hell out of it, break it in. Do some power shifts, cut some donuts and after 3 or 400 miles, it should run clean by then as you may see slight smokeing at first. Depends on what oil ring gap you now have. ...Joe

[1950Panhead]

Measure the width of the ring groove and call Hastings, they may have a one piece ring or an expander to fit the groove.
If your oil ring is past 62 years it may have entered retirement and not want to scrape oil off your cylinder walls.
Jerry

[Panacea]

Measure the width of the ring groove and call Hastings, they may have a one piece ring or an expander to fit the groove.
If your oil ring is past 62 years it may have entered retirement and not want to scrape oil off your cylinder walls.
Jerry

It may even have an "early retirement clause"

[1951 adam]

Jerry thats what I was going to do, call them, being that there were no piston markings at all it was a bit of a crap shoot I guess, but I thought THe ring grooves were all pretty much the same....guess not, I talked to a few friends that said they have never seen oil control rings break, neither have I....but it is my baby....

[1951 adam]

I did call and there are only 2 different size grooves .187 and .156, mine is .156, They will send correct rings. very nice folks at Hastings!