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what are yalls opinions of filing the ring gaps down? for example if my engine has been bored to .030 but has wear to .033 or.034, instead of buying .030 rings I buy .040 rings and file the ring gap till it is within specs.
my neighbor is a mechanic at an ATV shop and he says that they do this quiet regularly?
how do yall feel about this?
Nothing *wrong* with doing this, it just
makes the rebuild take a little longer, and
may lenghten the break in time. But you may
loose a little bit of HP as the rings will have
more tension on the cylinder wall, not enough
to notice though...
Steve & the Rockette
'63 F100
'68 F100
'72 Capri 2L
'73 Capri 2.6L V6
'73 MG B GT 2.6L V6(Ford)
'98 Contour SVT 2.5L V6 (Mods)
'01 ZX2 (No Mods yet)
The issue I am looking at really isn't the piston ring gap, it's the piston to bore clearance. If your bore is 4.030 and you have ware to 4.033 then your on the outer edge of the piston to bore limit. Factory ford spec's call for no more then a .003 clearance on the pistons. Any more then this and you might run into broken rings real fast. If your bore is this large new rings wont help. It sounds like its time for a bore/hone.