[Vwdiesel] Should I Re-Ring?

[ralph meyermann]

Excessive temps can cause the piston/cylinder wall clearance to tighten up
and possibly seize, if they are tight tolerances to begin with. The 1.6 na
in a Westy is very sluggish at best, many of the rolling hills here in Iowa
I was needing to run in third gear to make it up. The best thing I've done
was swapping in the 1.9AAZ turbo diesel, WOW what a difference and keeping
the same fuel economy and possibly gaining a touch while eliminating the
smoke too! I suggest saving up some $ and doing that swap.

Velma 82 1.9L AAZ td westy
On Jan 23, 2014 1:28 PM, "Will Taygan" <lists at alaskabiodiesel.org> wrote:

> I have factory install rings on Kobenschmidt pistons.  What would
> measuring the end gap tell me other than whether the bore is shot?  Will
> it tell me if the rings are worn-out?
>
> Factory rings in +1mm would set me back over $400, Hastings about $100
> and Grant $25.  I was leaning towards the Hastings, but really have no
> idea..
>
> Is there a downside to honing and installing new rings?  Will they only
> help or could it hurt?  Not looking for long-longevity, not burning any
> oil, cold start is acceptable, but I am looking to increase power..
>
> I'm pushing a Westy with the 1.6NA, and can really notice the power drop
> as compression has gone from 450+ down to ~400.
>
> I don't have any piston tools, so I'm shying away from re-ringing,
> unless it'll help with power and not damage what's in there.
>
> Would the coolant loss and oil pressure loss burn out the rings, or
> mostly just hit the bearings (or valves??)
>
> Thanks,
>
> Will in Alaska.
>
>
> On Wed, 2014-01-22 at 11:23 -0500, lbaird119 at aol.com wrote:
> >   Since you'll have the head and pan off, I'd pull a piston and measure
> the end gap.  (pull top ring, put it in the cylinder then flip the piston,
> push down until second ring stops it, remove and measure the gap.)  I only
> say this because I had a rebuild where the rings wore excessively due to
> the shop not honing the bore coarse enough.  Otherwise I'd say you have no
> indications to need to look.
> >
> >   Looks like you're leaking between #2 and #3 mostly with #2 possibly
> leaking a little into the water jacket but not enough to blow coolant.
> >
> >   Never use oil on a hot compression test, especially on a diesel.  I
> had a 302 Ford fire on me and peg my gauge, a diesel certainly could.
> >     Loren
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Will Taygan <lists at alaskabiodiesel.org>
> > To: vwdiesel <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
> > Sent: Tue, Jan 21, 2014 6:51 pm
> > Subject: [Vwdiesel] Should I Re-Ring?
> >
> >
> > (Crossposting from the Diesel-Vanagon group:)
> > Background: 82 Stock-ish 1.6NA - 2yrs+35k on bored +1mm rebuild.  Lost
> > oolant at 10k, lost oil pressure at 34k.  Still running.  Was running
> > ot on hills under load, replaced thermostat and radiator, helped (like
> > erfect) for a couple weeks, now running hot and cold every couple
> > iles.  Oil in coolant, replaced oil cooler, coolant tank stays full.
> > Plans: replace head gasket, swap oil pan for a turbo pan (a delayed
> > roject) and install new Peloquin trans coming this week from
> > ATransaxle.
> > ** Compression 400,345,370,400 (HOT), 450,390,440,450 with a spoonful of
> > -cycle oil.  Is a +50psi with oil sealing like this expected on normal
> > ings, or would there be a benefit (or disadvantage) to putting new
> > ings in?
> > Probably should have replaced the headgasket a long time ago, but my
> > ompression tester was broken, and it HAS been driving daily (though
> > ust on local roads, not the highway).
> > SHOULD I RE-RING?  I'll have head and pan off anyway, but it would be
> > n-rack with crank in.  I have another engine to rebuild when this one
> > ies, but I would really like to get this one in shape for summer.
> > Thanks for you opinions!  I have disassembled a bunch of parts engines,
> > ut have never done rings or put pistons back in.
> > Will in Alaska.
> >
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