Ring gap question

I just put the new pistons on and have a question about ring gap placement. I followed my Clymer and put the top ring gap facing front, second ring gap facing back, and rails of oil ring 30 degrees offset from top ring gap.

I was poking around on MTC's website and they say to put the oil ring rails inline with the wrist pin and to put the expander gap towards the front. The Clymer made no mention of where to put the expander gap. Is this critical? Where should I put the rail gaps at? Or does it really matter?

If I recall correctly, assuming you put the top ring gap front, 2nd ring gap to the back, you then put the oil expander gap toward the front with the rails offset 30 degrees (minimum) from the front in opposite directions.

as long as you dont have any ring gaps lined up you should be fine, just make sure you dont brake any rings when you install them

BSKZ650 wrote:

...just make sure you dont brake any rings when you install them

And be VERY careful to make sure that the oil expander ends aren't overlapped. It's very easy to miss if you're not careful.

Don't ask me how I know. :blush:

I bought the piston from Pit Stop. Joe had already installed the rings on the pistons. I did double check and the expander is installed correctly.

I thought it was odd the shop manual makes no mention of where to put the expander gap. I'll probably go ahead and put the expander gap towards the front.

Thanks!

that was kinda frustrating for me to get the sleeves down with rings popping out somehwere and trying bind and also to not have the gaps rotate around...i have to re-assemble that z-1e i did later anyways cause i re-used a clip and am gonna not chance it by running it.....so i will be a little more peacful on my next assembly....if i had one thing i could do over it would be to -relax and not try and get er done ....to go slow and correct on each step....i was hurrying and my bench had gotten messy...one clip shot across the room and took off and i rushed and found an old one to use....that was how the whole thing seemed to go too...next time clean and slow......good luck.....

I tend to get in a hurry too. One thing that's in my favor is the head is still at the shop being ported. I have plenty of time to do this right. I was afraid that I'd get the head back early, then I'd be throwing parts together to get it running quickly.

Did you put your cylinder on by yourself or did you have help? My dad is coming over Saturday to help me drop it on. I figure dropping the block over the pistons will be the hardest part of this build. I've never done it before and I've heard some people say it's easy, and others say it's tricky.

i used little finish hammer wooden handles to keep the other two cylinders from touching before i was ready for em...and some tiny flathead screwdrivers to work the rings around into the sleeves bottom bevels...if you got the sleeves bored ,did they re bevel or leave some bevel on the bottoms...i just sat the two inner pistons on tdc and pinned the outer cyls in place with the hammers and some hardwood shims,then slid the block onto the first rings and worked em in with the screw drivers....my girl was my third hand....but i read on kzr later about using big flat zip ties and leaving em a tad loose in place of ring compressors,i however had an o.k time with the tiny screw drivers...he nce my problem of the gaps walkig around a tad...next time i may try sliding some zip ties down with the jugs...good luck....pics when installing please

the gaps moving around is not that big of a deal, as long as you dont let them align, remember the rings do rotate in the bore as the engine is running

In an earlier thread [Installing Pistons],
stever wrote:
Put the barrels on at the weekend its a 1075 kit so the bore had taken most of the chamfer off the bottom of the barrels. I dont have a ring compressor!
Put assembly grease on the rings and in the bore then cut a 1 inch wide strip of plastic off an old pets dring bottle long enough to wrap round the rings cut small tabs at the top and bent it back so the plastic would get carried down as i pushed the barrels down. I then used plastic cable ties to wrap round the plastic and compress the rings, slid the barrels on and the pistons just went straight in with no problems at all.
I figured by using plastic I could not scratch the pistons or any thing.
Once the pistons were in I just cut the cable ties and pulled the plastic off.
It only took a few minutes and cost nothing.
Just thought someone else might find this usefull.


Popcycle sticks could also be useful (but consensus isn't unanimous -- ask nads).

And allowing top ring land to remain slightly exposed beyond "whatever" clamp should help piston align when entering the sleeve.

Good Fortune!

Patton wrote:

And allowing top ring land to remain slightly exposed beyond "whatever" clamp should help piston align when entering the sleeve.

As I'm getting within a month of putting my engine back together, I've been paying close attention to the reassembly threads. Patton - I don't quite understand the above quote....could you elaborate?

Thanks!

Link14 wrote:

Patton wrote:

And allowing top ring land to remain slightly exposed beyond "whatever" clamp should help piston align when entering the sleeve.

As I'm getting within a month of putting my engine back together, I've been paying close attention to the reassembly threads. Patton - I don't quite understand the above quote....could you elaborate?

Thanks!

See this earlier thread
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...d=2&id=336135#336242

where larrycaven says it much better

Install hose clamps so the top ring land is above the clamp. That gives the sleeve something to get hold of so the block starts down properly without rocking the piston all over.


Good Fortune!