Piston Ring Order

[LOUD MOUSE]

THERE WILL BE NUMBERS ON THE RIGHT/TOP EDGE. USUALLY NOT EASY TO SEE.
IF YA DON'T SEE THEM ON WHAT IS TOP AS INSTALLED YA MANY WANT TO LOOK AT THE OTHER SIDE. THEY MAY BE INSTALLED WRONG SIDE UP. .........lm

It appears my rings don't have any numbers on them whatsoever. They're NOS honda rings too. Oh well.

YOU WILL SEE NUMBERS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE OPEN END IF YOU HAVE THE RING "TOP UP". ..........lm

Davo, thanks, saw reference to that in Bill Silver's manual. Always appreciate the reminders.

Also, be sure to put the end gaps 120 degrees apart.

[rbaselt]

Forget about staggering the ring gaps. The fellows at Triumph did a study years ago in which they ran an engine for 1, 5 and 10 minutes and found that the rings turned freely in random directions even in the span of 1 minute. --Randall

[Spargett]

I went a double checked the rings in the sunlight. I found the numbers. Man, those things are faint. Luckily for backtracking's sake, only one of the rings was upside down. Thanks again.

I was curious as to what the effects would be of an upside-down ring.

THERE WILL BE NUMBERS ON THE RIGHT/TOP EDGE. USUALLY NOT EASY TO SEE. IF YA DON'T SEE THEM ON WHAT IS TOP AS INSTALLED YA MANY WANT TO LOOK AT THE OTHER SIDE. THEY MAY BE INSTALLED WRONG SIDE UP. .........lm

Thanks for the fun fact rbaselt.

[Spargett]

I'm about to put the piston's back on, I was wondering as to which side the piston ring clips should be on? The inside of the piston or the outside? If memory serves me correct, it was the outside.

[LOUD MOUSE]

Each ring has a job such as seal for compression or first seal for oil and second for oil.
If upside down the ring can't do it's job. .............km

I went a double checked the rings in the sunlight. I found the numbers. Man, those things are faint. Luckily for backtracking's sake, only one of the rings was upside down. Thanks again.

I was curious as to what the effects would be of an upside-down ring.

THERE WILL BE NUMBERS ON THE RIGHT/TOP EDGE. USUALLY NOT EASY TO SEE. IF YA DON'T SEE THEM ON WHAT IS TOP AS INSTALLED YA MANY WANT TO LOOK AT THE OTHER SIDE. THEY MAY BE INSTALLED WRONG SIDE UP. .........lm

Thanks for the fun fact rbaselt.

[rbaselt]

Ultimately, you want pin clips at both ends of the pin!! But it's a lot easier if the clips face each other when installing the pistons, would be tough to do the other way around, although maybe not impossible. I assume you know there is a front and back to each piston. I find it easier to place the pistons into the upside down cylinder first up to the level of the top of the pin, then slowly lower the cylinder down onto the crankcases, sliding each pin home one at a time. That way you don't have to fight to squeeze the rings into the sleeves with very limited access. --Randall

[Spargett]

Yeah, two pins on each side makes sense to me as well. But most kits I see only have one pin per piston, and the same was true when I took the old ones off. I noticed there are recesses for clips on each end. Looks like it's time to place an order. Thanks for the help. Learning alot from everyone.

Ultimately, you want pin clips at both ends of the pin!! But it's a lot easier if the clips face each other when installing the pistons, would be tough to do the other way around, although maybe not impossible. I assume you know there is a front and back to each piston. I find it easier to place the pistons into the upside down cylinder first up to the level of the top of the pin, then slowly lower the cylinder down onto the crankcases, sliding each pin home one at a time. That way you don't have to fight to squeeze the rings into the sleeves with very limited access. --Randall