Engine Rebiulding...need help.

[tuffbird]

Okay folks...I'm putting the engine together at this time and have a few questions.

1st, I purchased the Speed Pro Ring set (pre-gapped Moly units) and do not see a mark for "Top" on the rings.

The came in the package as Oil, Second and Top rings and that is how each went on...however, I read somewhere that the rings would have a mark on them for what side should point up (called the top mark). Should I be worried or place them on the KB pistons anyway?

2nd, Someone told me (not exactly a great mechanic) that moly rings need to be soaked for at least 24 hours before putting them on the piston and into the bore. Is this BS or good practice? If BS, do I need to lube the rings up if the walls of the bore have been oiled down?

3rd, There is a notch on the conrods and bearings of the conrods. Do the notches need to align to where they are on the same side for the conrod and the endcap? Or do they need to be opposed? During disassembly, some were on the same side, others weren't. I sent them off to be balanced and have the big ends resized. They all came back where they were on the same side.

Thanks for any help...

[ajmopar]

I don't think you need to soak the moly rings in oil, a light oiling when you put the pistons in the bores should do it. Moly on the face of the ring is a lubricant.

Usually compression rings have a dot on the upper surface right at the gap. If not, the chamfered edge goes up. Speed pros are usually marked, in my experience, though. Was there no instruction sheet in the box with the rings?

The notches in the big end of the rods are for the bearing tangs, and they should both be on the same side, so the machine shop was correct.

Good luck, putting them together is the fun part, I think.

[451Mopar]

Bearing caps, bearing tangs both on the same side, oil squirt hole "V-Cut" should be to the inside of the engine, and in this position the pistons "forward" mark should face the front of the engine. To make sure each connecting rod bearing cap is correct, you should plastigauge the bearing clearances (on the mains too.)
After checking the clearances, and after torquing each rod, spin the engine over to make sure it dosen't bind, if it does you may have the rod cap on wrong.

If the rings don't have a "top" mark, check the instructions.
Usually the inside of the ring will have a chamfer that (I think) needs to be towards the top.

With Keith Black pistons, the oil comtrol and second piston rings usually are gaped correctly out of the box (check them anyway), but the TOP RING needs to be gaped per the directions given by Keith Black!!! This usually means you have to get a ring gap file to give the rings some extra gap (the exact gap number depends on the engine bore size and application.)
Failure to properly gap the top ring can cause the ring to butt-up when hot and seize the engine, usually resulting in scored cylinder walls and/or broken piston lands!!

I haven't heard anything about soaking the piston rings in oil, but I lube the piston/rings and cylinder wall with oil when installing the pistons.

[dave571]

The only top mark's I've seen are a single dot on the top edge of the ring .

I'm with the other guys on the rod issue. The important thing is to put them together the same way they were when they were sized(the way the shop sent them back to you). Also, don't mix and match, the caps are matched to the rods themselves after sizing.

In the future, mark the rods with numbers,( one on the cap, one on the rod) on opposite sides of the line, on the side of the rod that faces up.(up when looking at the crank assembly with the engine upside down in the stand)