350 Rancher Engine Question...

[vpofthedrc]

My buddy dumped his Rancher into a pretty deep water hole. We immediately shut it down, pulled the plug and cranked out the water. He had to ride a few miles to a place we could trailer it back. Since then it smokes very bad. Recently got it pulled apart and nothing looks all that messed up. The dome of the piston is very nasty, and you could tell it had been covered in dirt and water. The cylinder wall looks ok, would probably need honed just to make sure, and the piston rings are measuring out to 37 thousandths of gap. The local Honda shop told him that the gap should be between 15 and 30 thousandths. I was curious as to what we should gap the new piston rings at with such a broad range to go off of. Also, there is a little play in the wrist pin of the piston, but nothing else seems to be wrong. Should I just replace his rings, and be done with it, or replace more stuff. What should I be looking for. I'm assuming the extra gap is what is causing the "blow by" smoking problem.

[02440exkid]

it's prolly b/c their is water in the oil some people say that they had to chang the oil over 7 times to get all the water out :ermm:

[vpofthedrc]

He changed it twice, the oil doesn't appear to be milky or anything, like you would normally see it after it was mixed with water.

[DieselBoy]

you ran it after it was in the waterhole to get it back to your vehicle without an oil change, correct?

[vpofthedrc]

Yup.

[DieselBoy]

well i guess it's safe to assume the water contaminated the crankcase/airbox and caused lack of lubrication and premature wear on the rings. it wouldn't take long.

[vpofthedrc]

Thanks, that what I was thinking. I'm a little more used to something with around 7 more cylinders, but the same principles still apply.

Any idea why there is such a big range in the piston ring gap the Honda dealer told me about?

15-30 thou. is a big difference. I'm taking a stab here, but I'm assuming the numbers mean to file the gap to 15 originally and once the gap gets to 30 their bad?

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by vpofthedrc
Thanks, that what I was thinking. I'm a little more used to something with around 7 more cylinders, but the same principles still apply.

Any idea why there is such a big range in the piston ring gap the Honda dealer told me about?

15-30 thou. is a big difference. I'm taking a stab here, but I'm assuming the numbers mean to file the gap to 15 originally and once the gap gets to 30 their bad?

Most aftermarket pistons like wiseco come pretty much ready to drop in. Its a good idea to check the ring gap, but I've never had to change it right out of the box.

[DieselBoy]

buy a new piston kit, and there's no hastle with the ring gap (almost always).