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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 10:35 #850067

  • wslowik
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I'm installing rings on a set of KZ440 pistons - the rings came on the pistons purchased from ebay. I took them off years ago and had the pistons cleaned. Finishing up the project now and putting the rings back on, but I'm not sure in which orientation to install the top ring. The oil ring is a no brainer, got that figured out. The other two rings don't match what is shown in the manual, which says the top ring is rectangular in section, and the second ring is tapered. What I have is a rectangular second ring and a rabbeted top ring, almost like a "lip" on the outer edge. The second ring is wider than the top and has the N mark, so I know which way is up. It also doesn't fit in the top groove so I'm pretty confident that is in the right place. The top ring, however, has no N mark, so not sure if this lip is supposed to go up or down, or if these are even the right rings. Thanks for any help!

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 12:29 #850068

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Any pics of the top ring cross section shape would help.

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 12:57 #850069

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Top ring with "lip"


Second ring for comparison:

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 14:29 #850073

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I am a little clueless about your top ring shape. On 2 stroke engines the top ring is L shaped to catch the burned gas to get more pressure on the cylinder wall at the igniton stroke. Your top ring look like similar. Can you made some pics of the piston ring grooves?

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 16:05 #850085

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No magic to them as far as I can tell. Top groove slightly narrower than second groove precluding the wider ring from fitting in it.



 

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 17:17 #850086

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Intuitive i would say this is the best fit position for your top piston ring. An other position make no sence to me.
Maybe someone is more competent or has more technical experiance to enlight us all here.

 
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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 17:31 #850087

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Yeah that makes logical sense, to the put the lip toward the side with the pressure which would push the ring down and out, creating a better seal. Might just end up buying a ring kit and replacing them - would hate to have to tear it all apart again. Thanks for your help!

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 18:29 #850090

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No magic to them as far as I can tell. Top groove slightly narrower than second groove precluding the wider ring from fitting in it.



What did you do to those skirts?
2002 ZRX1200R
81 GPz1100
79 KZ1000st daily ride
79 KZ1000mk2 prodject
78 KZ650sr
78 KZ650b
81 KZ750e
80 KZ750ltd
77 KZ400/440 cafe project
76 KZ400/440 Fuel Injected

www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=39120.0


.

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 18:38 #850091

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What do you mean?

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 19:27 #850093

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Keep the soda blaster away from machined surfaces.


.
2002 ZRX1200R
81 GPz1100
79 KZ1000st daily ride
79 KZ1000mk2 prodject
78 KZ650sr
78 KZ650b
81 KZ750e
80 KZ750ltd
77 KZ400/440 cafe project
76 KZ400/440 Fuel Injected

www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=39120.0


.

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 12 Jun 2021 19:40 #850094

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They weren’t soda blasted, but thanks for your concern.

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kz440 piston rings, top ring which direction? 13 Jun 2021 12:12 #850132

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Buy another set of piston rings.  That top piston ring should not be used, in the top groove.  It's not correct.  It looks like a scraper piston ring and that type of
piston ring should only be used in the second groove, with the "lip" facing DOWN. 

If you install it with the lip facing up, it will SCRAPE the cylinder walls and throw oil into the combustion chamber, and quickly foul the spark plugs.

Those piston rings are not factory Kawasaki parts.  Buy Kawasaki OEM piston rings, if you can.  And be sure to run a brush hone through the cylinders first.
 
Motorcycle builder since 1973. Master Tech. Current bike: 1982 GPZ1100B2.

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