Doing an engine/transmission rebuild on my Metro. Anything worth considering?

[redneck]

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Use a Zero gap top ring on the piston.

TOTAL SEAL PISTON RINGS



Buy a spray can of WS2.

Lower Friction


Coat piston skirts, cyl. bore, bearings and bearing surfaces, cam, crank, valve stems, lifters and rockers.

Be meticulous in your rebuild.

Do it right the first time...


>

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by cosmick

Block heaters are for old diesels.
File-fit rings are for racing engines where more gap than standard helps against ring butting at extreme temps. Can't even get them for any 3-cylinder because nobody races them.

Block heaters are for any one who does not want to start an ice cold engine or does not want to waste gas for 20 minutes warming up their icy vehicle to defrost it.
That is just an ignorant statement that tells us what you feel and has no bearing in reality.

You are 100% wrong about not being able to find file fit rings for a non raced application.
No one makes file fit rings for a 6.5L diesel but I have them.
I went with rings one over bore size up from your bore size and dermaled them to the gap I wanted.
That is all you have to do to get file fit rings for any application.

You are thinking about applications that require more gap than stock rings provide for use with a power adder such as nitrous or a lot of boost.
You don't file the rings wider than OEM for a N/A street engine, that would be pointless.
On an engine with a bore of roughly 4 inches such as my diesel, OEM rings would give you a typical gap of .030'' to .040''. I run about half that much gap, because I read the instructions on how to file fit rings.
For example, I bought a new 6.5L diesel block with the bore finished to standard diameter. So I got the next size up over bore rings +0.5mm.
I run a .018'' top, .014'' 2nd ring and .014'' oil ring.
I also run ultra low tension oil rings on my diesel (do not put low tension oil rings on a gasoline motor any of you).

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by redneck

.

Use a Zero gap top ring on the piston.

TOTAL SEAL PISTON RINGS

I have seen people not recommended total seals for daily driver use.

[Daox]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I have seen people not recommended total seals for daily driver use.

Why is that?

[oil pan 4]

Now I remember why I don't care for them.

People who build and tear down engine who have used total seal rings claim that all the 2 ring halves on the total seal ring eventually line up and stay that way and that this is very common.
People who have used them called them a waste of money.
Engine builders advise people not to use them on daily drivers.
Some people complain about excessive oil consumption with them on daily driven cars.
Almost all racers that have used them end up going back to traditional moly plasma coated file fit rings after being unimpressed.
The rings are thin and very fragile compared to normal rings, because they are cramming 2 rings into the space of one.
This type of piston ring was originally invented for hydraulic cylinders and for use in air compressors. And that is where they should stay.
The people who swear by them sound exactly like the HHO believer cult.

You can get file fit for the same cost as regular rings most of the time.
All you have to do is fit them to the minimum recommended gap in the narrowest part of each cylinder.

Next engine I build will use speedpro molybdenum plasma coated top rings fitted to the minimum gap spec. A cast iron second and standard tension oil ring (because it will be a gasoline motor).
Almost exactly like I did with the diesel.

[pgfpro]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Now I remember why I don't care for them.

People who build and tear down engine who have used total seal rings claim that all the 2 ring halves on the total seal ring eventually line up and stay that way and that this is very common.
People who have used them called them a waste of money.
Engine builders advise people not to use them on daily drivers.
Some people complain about excessive oil consumption with them on daily driven cars.
Almost all racers that have used them end up going back to traditional moly plasma coated file fit rings after being unimpressed.
The rings are thin and very fragile compared to normal rings, because they are cramming 2 rings into the space of one.
This type of piston ring was originally invented for hydraulic cylinders and for use in air compressors. And that is where they should stay.
The people who swear by them sound exactly like the HHO believer cult.

You can get file fit for the same cost as regular rings most of the time.
All you have to do is fit them to the minimum recommended gap in the narrowest part of each cylinder.

Next engine I build will use speedpro molybdenum plasma coated top rings fitted to the minimum gap spec. A cast iron second and standard tension oil ring (because it will be a gasoline motor).
Almost exactly like I did with the diesel.

I 100% concur.