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Running with a piston ring missing, to get you home?
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 5:38 pm
by ove
Is it possible to run a 2 ring piston with only 1 ring in it,to get you out of trouble? What would be the problems? compression,lack of performance,tickover?
You can get pistons with 1,2 or 3 rings, so why would they have 3 rings if only 1 was needed?
Over the years I`ve had a couple of pistons with the ring peg come out, just wondering if i could of used them as a back up spare?
Cheers for any words of wisdom.
ove
Re: Running with a piston ring missing, to get you home?
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 6:05 pm
by coaster
I reckon the compression would be down a bit and you might possibly suffer some blow by but so long as you treated it respectfully it would get you home. I'd concider it certainly....I've even heard of nuts and bolts being used to fix holed pistons :shocking:
Re: Running with a piston ring missing, to get you home?
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 6:29 pm
by TS1-200
coaster wrote:I reckon the compression would be down a bit and you might possibly suffer some blow by but so long as you treated it respectfully it would get you home. I'd concider it certainly....I've even heard of nuts and bolts being used to fix holed pistons :shocking:
Yes, I`ve heard of that, in fact I was tempted the other weekend after holing a piston, I`m sure it would have worked, but didnt fancy spendind most of the one full day of the rally fixing it, glad I didn`t, cos when pulling it apart at home I was amazed at the amount of aluminium particles there was everywhere in the engine, crankcase, bearings reedvalve, would have done more damage than just a holed piston I reckon.
Re: Running with a piston ring missing, to get you home?
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 6:55 pm
by soosh
I've run a 3 ring piston on just 2 rings for the past 10yrs.
I'm sure its fine.
Re: Running with a piston ring missing, to get you home?
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:53 pm
by Supereibar
soosh wrote:I've run a 3 ring piston on just 2 rings for the past 10yrs.
I'm sure its fine.
Re: Running with a piston ring missing, to get you home?
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:21 pm
by joey
...a well known tuner always recomended leaving the bottom ring out for more speed on a three ringer...me and a friend once filed the rings out of a knackered up piston in the South of France for someone [they had put it in the wrong way round] could only get the top ring back in...they carried on 2 up and returned to the north east no problem....
Re: Running with a piston ring missing, to get you home?
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 7:44 pm
by tom-wsp
I have done this before, would only do 30 MPH and would have to be bump started but did about 100 mile like this with no "real" issues
Re: Running with a piston ring missing, to get you home?
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:47 pm
by Powolotti
with good rings you won´t feel a difference, BUT always put a ring in the TOP groove, especially on tuned exhaust ports (!!)