Wiseco ring installation

Check out everything Wiseco offers for your machine here. Checking ring end gap involves inserting the piston ring into the bore and using feeler gauges to determine how large of a gap there is.

You should compare your measurement to the spec outlined in your owners manual or piston instructions. Rings commonly come pre-gapped, but some fine-tuning may be required after measuring. Ring end gaps should be filed evenly, small portions at a time to reach the desired spec. Measuring piston to cylinder wall clearance involves measuring the diameter of the piston and subtracting that from the bore diameter. Be sure to follow your piston instructions on measuring your piston at the proper gauge points.

Making sure your piston has proper clearance involves measuring the wrist pin diameter and subtracting that from the pin bore diameter. This can accomplished using a bore gauge set and a micrometer.

Cylinder prep is incredibly important for a top end rebuild. Make sure your cylinder's plating is in good condition and it is properly deglazed, honed, and cleaned.

Read our complete guide to cylinder prep here. Make sure your power valve is reassembled and functioning properly before reinstalling the cylinder. It's easiest to install your ring pack and one circlip before installing the piston on the small end of the rod. Ensuring the ring end gaps are lined up with the locating pins is crucial to proper 2-stroke engine operation.

Read more about locating pins here. When installing the new piston on the connecting rod, make sure the piston is correctly oriented, usually with the appropriate marking facing the exhaust side. Also, apply lube to the new small end bearing and wrist pin bore. Before sliding the cylinder onto the new piston, apply some lube to the piston skirts, ring faces, and clyinder wall.

It's critical to make sure the ring end gaps remain correctly oriented with their locating pins throughout cylinder installation. When installed correctly, the new piston should move smoothly up and down in the bore without any snags or notchiness. Always make sure to torque your cylinder and head bolts to the spec outlined in your owners manual. Tighten the head bolts in a star pattern to prevent warpage. A crankcase leakdown test can help ensure your new rings are sealing properly before initial fire up.

Make sure the cuts are straight by compressing the ring and holding it up to the light to look at the gap. When filing the rings, sneak up on the final gap.

Go slowly, removing minimal material at a time and re-checking the gap often. In ideal operation, the ring end gaps will be near zero to trap all of the combustion pressure in the chamber. The potential for ring butting and damage far outweighs any potential power gains.

As for installation order, the top and second rings look very similar to each other at first glance, but their designs are often quite different. Because of this, their designs are sometimes different, so you need to make sure the right ring goes in the right piston groove. Ring sets identify the top and second rings, usually by markings on the top of the ring surface, but this should always be clarified either by the manufacturer directly of the provided instruction sheet.

In regards to the perfect end gap for your particular engine. The topic has been extremely scienced out. Included with every ring set is an application chart that takes into account bore diameter, application, and suggested gap.

A naturally aspirated engine and a nitrous engine, for example, would have different end gaps, even if they had identical bores. The nitrous engine will generate more heat, which cause the rings to expand more, hence they will need a larger gap. Forced induction images have a similar effect on ring end gap. To calculate the right end gap for your engine. Multiply the suggested clearance by your cylinder bore diameter.

For example: a street strip application with a 4. By multiplying 4. From there, we can hit the ring grinder and start making some clearance. Piston rings come in sets for each piston. Our late model EFI lineup and several small block Chevy pistons are designed around the our 1. Many of our big block sets utilize a. High Performance Piston Pins We have a few choices when it comes to choosing a piston pin.

These pins can be found toward the rear of our paper catalogs on the Automotive page listed under 'Additional Accessories'. Tapered Ring Compressor Sleeves Machined from Wiseco sleeve forgings to offer the same toughness as Wiseco's forged pistons. These compressor sleeves are hard anodized and Teflon coated for low friction and prolonged wear resistance. These sleeves have a smooth radius that tapers down to the specific bore size to make installation of any piston a breeze.