[SEL] Re: Pinned Rings - Problems or Not?

[Arnie Fero]

Hi Curt,

Sorry to burst your bubble bro.  I don't think the angled ends were
anything like universal on pinned rings.  The Robertsonville shows that
configuration, but the Bessemer has a semi-circular notch in the ends of
what are otherwise butt-end rings.  According to Craig that's the normal
configuration.

See ya,  Arnie

PS - one of the great tragedies of life is the murder of a beautiful
     theory by a gang of brutal facts.  8-))

Arnie Fero
Pittsburgh, PA
fero_ah at city-net.com

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005, Curt wrote:

> After digesting what both of you have written so well, you have helped
> me answered a question I have had for a long time. That is, why did the
> engine manufactures make the ring gaps with an approx. 45° angle instead
> of butt ends? Bearing in mind what you have both written, to solve the
> strange wear pattern that a pinned ring in conjunction with a butt end
> gap would create, the solution was to make the gap on a 45°. This
> assured the ring was wiping completely around the cylinder and would not
> leave an unworn ridge down the length of the cylinder. Seems kind of
> obvious now, but until I digested both of your points I had never put
> the pieces together enough to realize that one was a function of the other.