Currently in the middle of reassembling my block (D16Y8). What's the proper piston ring position? I know they have to be in a certain position before going into the block. Thanks!

 

Haynes manual will tell you..

 

Space the gaps out away from each other, so that they are as far from alignment as possible. If they are - or near - aligned, you set yourself up for a bit of blowby and lowered compression.

Is that what you mean?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Newt Dog &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Haynes manual will tell you.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks! The Haynes manual talks about the installation, but it does not mention the spacing or ring position in refence to the others.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by J. Davis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Space the gaps out away from each other, so that they are as far from alignment as possible. If they are - or near - aligned, you set yourself up for a bit of blowby and lowered compression.

Is that what you mean?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks! That's exactly what I was referring to.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by J. Davis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Space the gaps out away from each other, so that they are as far from alignment as possible. If they are - or near - aligned, you set yourself up for a bit of blowby and lowered compression.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Its my opinion and experience that ring alignment and position has nothing to do with blowby.Pressure doesn't need "line of site" to escape.That being said I still stagger the gaps.Rings rotate in the grooves constantly in a healthy engine anyway.Ring gap itself has little to do with blowby.When an engine is at operating cylinder temps the ring gap is only five or ten thousands wide by maybe twenty or thirty thousands long.that's a very small opening.Cylinder distortion and ring contact with the walls is the biggest leak.
Glenn

 

You may be correct, with how the gaps are supposed to shrink I didn't see much correlation, but I am not an engine builder.

It's covered in all current text books and all current autotech curriculum, though. Might be a holdover from the stoneage machining tolerances/practices of yesteryear where it took rings longer to seat against crudely honed bores, unlike the engine break-in procedures of today.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NJIN BUILDR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Its my opinion and experience that ring alignment and position has nothing to do with blowby.Pressure doesn't need "line of site" to escape.That being said I still stagger the gaps.Rings rotate in the grooves constantly in a healthy engine anyway.Ring gap itself has little to do with blowby.When an engine is at operating cylinder temps the ring gap is only five or ten thousands wide by maybe twenty or thirty thousands long.that's a very small opening.Cylinder distortion and ring contact with the walls is the biggest leak.
Glenn </TD></TR></TABLE>

This is a good bit of information, thank you! With this being said, I guess it's time to finish assembling the block.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JoseCuervo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

This is a good bit of information, thank you! With this being said, I guess it's time to finish assembling the block. </TD></TR></TABLE>

If you just throw the ring's on the piston's without spacing them properly you will have problem's.. If you have any of your ring gap's lined up with one another you will have blowby.. I know.. Trust me..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Newt Dog &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

If you just throw the ring's on the piston's without spacing them properly you will have problem's.. If you have any of your ring gap's lined up with one another you will have blowby.. I know.. Trust me.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I do trust you, that's why I asked before just throwing things in there. I wonder if you had to find that out the hard way! Thanks again.