Forum

[AndyMc]

Hi all.
I will be replacing my piston rings soon (EFI 500) due to increased oil consumption. I have looked at several diagrams on clocking the gap but there are a number of different suggestions. Some say not to have the gaps at the front, rear, side faces of the piston. some give 45deg between the expander and oil scraper rings. Any definitive answer would be appreciated. TIA, Andy

[Mark M]

Even spacing is fine, what you don't want is for the gaps to all to be in a vertical line. As long as you've got approximately 120 degrees between the gaps it'll be fine.

REgards, Mark

[Leon Novello]

I know this is not an answer to the question, but you will need to deglaze/hone the bore, otherwise the new rings will not bed-in properly.

[AndyMc]

Good point, it was run at idle a lot before i purchased it. 2010 bike purchased in 2017 with 500 miles on it. so i suspect it will need doing.

[mauri]

positioning them evenly to put the barrel back on is a good thing, but just as valves turn on them self so do the rings.



they will never stay in there original position, and constantly move around the piston as long as they are not pinched in the ring groove and there spacing is correct.

[ric]

With luck the rings are only stuck in their grooves and unable to seal against the bore.
You’d have nothing to lose (except oil) by putting a couple of hundred miles on the clock and throwing in a few Italian tune ups prior to the intended strip down.
(At least they got one thing right with these latest engines, correctly looked after they need no oil topping up between the 3,500+ mile services.

[papasmurf]

AndyMc, can I ask why, given the many reasons an Enfield can start using/losing a lot of oil, why do you think it is the piston rings?
(What mileage has the bike done.)

[AndyMc]

Papasmurf.
A mixture of history and symptoms. The bike was not run in when i bought it in 2016, it had 500 miles on it and was 6 years old. It was run at tickover regularly but never ridden. it now has 15K miles. It is not knocking, there is no smoke on startup (not valve seals), there are no leaks and its not coming out of the breather (back pressure is normal). There is no obvious smoke when riding and there is no piston slap. However, the inside of the exhaust feels slightly oily with sticky carbon rather than dry. It uses a lot of oil on faster runs. I suspect the bore is glazed. Any ideas of other causes would be appreciated. I do a lot of touring on it so i don't like carrying a lot of oil if I can help it. Cheers. Andy

[papasmurf]

AndyMc, thanks for the reply, personally and I stress personally, I would try using an oil treatment and a petrol treatment first.

(I use Wurth but many others are available.) Such "mechanics in a tin," have over the years solved many problems for me without the need of resorting to spanners. They are both used at every service on our four various motorcycles and cars over the years.

I also cured some problems on our current car,(very bargain price as it had not been started for over two years but kept in a garage.) By using a £10 spray can of specialist cleaner into the air intake with the "butterfly" open and going for a "blast" of about 100 miles the next day.

[ric]

ignore my last - I assumed it still had only 500 miles on the clock.