Opel GT Forum banner

Gapless Piston Rings

5K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  dodgeramem 
#1 ·
Piston Rings

I am looking at freshing up the stock 1.9 with new rings.

I read the gapless rings are the better investment. How would I go about ordering them if they have no direct opel gt application?

Would I also need to look at over size rings?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
kel
 
#2 ·
You just need to tell the actual bore size (not piston size), and the ring thickness. They've done Opels for me many times. FWIW, I would just order a standard Hastings (chrome) full ring set, and order the gapless second ring set from Total Seal. It will save a lot of money compared to getting the entire Total Seal set, and you gain the benefits of the gapless rings still. You just won't use the Hastings second compression rings. The Opel ring thickness' are 2.0 mm, 2.0 mm, and 5.0 mm (from top compression ring to bottom oil ring).

You WILL need oversize rings if you bore the block out and install new oversized pistons. You should not need any +.005" rings unless you simply desire to file-fit them by hand. Even a loose-fit gapless ring will seal better than a new standard ring that's file-fit. The option is yours. BTW, make sure when you freshen the shortblock that the head is done at the same time. The Total Seals will pull so much extra vacuum that you will develop oil blow-by problems if you have worn valve guides and valve seals.

Bob
 
#5 ·
Uhh.....nope. I've never looked at their website, don't know their phone number offhand, and unfortunately my old salesman for 10 years died of a heart attack last year. Haven't needed to use them since then either. I'd just try a search on Google, then give them a call and ask for a salesman.

Bob
 
#7 ·
Total Seal

Just talked to Total Seal today. I inquired about getting a set of #2 gapless rings, as per Rally Bob's suggestion. I found out that since I already have a new set of rings, all I have to do is send them my #2 rings. From there they will make them into gapless rings and return them to me. The charges seem reasonable to me: $8 set-up charge and $8 per ring = $40 in all (plus return shipping). They quoted about 3 days lead time.

Can't wait I'll be packing them up this weekend.

Thanks for the tip Bob.

Paul Crane
 
#8 ·
Total Seal

I received my Gapless rings from Total Seal last Friday. I'm not far enough along on my project to install them yet, but they look great.

I just want to complement them on GREAT service. I shipped them my #2 rings to convert to gapless, the preceding Saturday, for a TOTAL of a ONE WEEK turnaround.

If anyone is thinking about going Gapless.. I say GO FOR IT!!!

Paul
 
#9 ·
Another Question

While thumbing thru the Jegs catalog, I saw a product made by Total Seal called Quick Seat Dry Film Power. See link

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=4475&prmenbr=361

Bob, have you ever used this stuff or something like it? I guess its a very fine abrasive powder... I can see how it might help the rings seat in better but wouldn't it wear the rings out faster?

Just wondering if there's any merrit to this stuff in a Street engine.

Paul
 
#10 ·
Re: Another Question

Paul said:
While thumbing thru the Jegs catalog, I saw a product made by Total Seal called Quick Seat Dry Film Power. See link

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=4475&prmenbr=361

Bob, have you ever used this stuff or something like it? I guess its a very fine abrasive powder... I can see how it might help the rings seat in better but wouldn't it wear the rings out faster?

Just wondering if there's any merrit to this stuff in a Street engine.

Paul
I doubt it's necessary. I have run-in new engines for 20 minutes at 2500-3000 rpms to break in a cam/lifters. Following that, I change the oil, and check timing, mess with carburetion, and run it for another 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. By this time, all the typical exhaust smoke from the rings seating is gone, and the engine is ready for full-power dyno runs. Have done this exact procedure on 5 Opel engines, and effectively the rings were seated by the time the cam was broken in. Drive it!

Bob
 
#11 ·
I doubt it's necessary. I have run-in new engines for 20 minutes at 2500-3000 rpms to break in a cam/lifters. Following that, I change the oil, and check timing, mess with carburetion, and run it for another 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. By this time, all the typical exhaust smoke from the rings seating is gone, and the engine is ready for full-power dyno runs. Have done this exact procedure on 5 Opel engines, and effectively the rings were seated by the time the cam was broken in. Drive it!

Bob
You ain't gonna believe this.

I talked to an Old drag Racer, one time.

His trick was to dump a 1/4 cup of comet powder in a new engine, then a quart of trannie fluid,

Slowly on both.

Then change the oil twice, and go Racin!

Guy was nutz, but he had some stories.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top