rings instalation

[01boneless]

ok guys i got my rings now i just need to know what i got to do to put them on ive heard somthing about staggering them and filing them compressing them ? so what do i need to do and how do i do it? do i need to line them up any certain way on the piston? how do i put it in the cylnder just force it in sorry ive just heard so may things.

[honda400ex2003]

take them with the cylinder and piston to get them honed and tell them you would like them to put the piston in the sleeve for easier installation.


it is easy with it in there already, you can put the wrist pin in and such with the piston all set. just slide the cylinder down after that and you can bolt it accordingly.

otherwise dl the manual and check out the pics to get all 3 in the correct slots on the piston. then stagger them 120 degrees apart accordingly. it will show you how to do it in the manual.

steve

[01boneless]

ok thanks steve so every nos my rings are burnt up but does anyone know why they burt? up i mean they were replace about 4 months ago maybe 200 hours or so

[honda400ex2003]

from blow by from not sealing properly most likely

just my .02 though,
steve

[01boneless]

yeah im sure your right but since your a jetting pro lol does my jetting sound ok? 158 main 38 piliot slip on no lid uni filter

[honda400ex2003]

yeah for the most part it sounds ok. you said the plug looked good so i wouldnt worry about it.

you will have to verify that it is good again after the rebuild and hone.

steve

[01boneless]

ok is it normal for it to smake a little when i start it up after the rebuil my dad said there would be oil in the pipe and packing that would have to burn out

[honda400ex2003]

shouldnt be any packing burning out but im sure that there will be a bit of smoke.

make sure you break it in properly this time.

you did get it honed correct?

steve

[01boneless]

yeah im gonna have it honed tomarrow or the next day then ill be readyand i broke it in the way the sticky says last time basicly just go hard on decel and throttle to seat ringsdoes about 200-250 hours on the rings sound normal to you i thinks so but no one else does

[honda400ex2003]

dude you gotta get it honed before you put it back together with the new rings.

the hone cleans up the cylinder to get the rings to seat properly

you have the new rings in there already and have it running?

you gotta read this stuff over a bit more before you send them, it is very hard to read with stuff in different tenses. past and present tense are different things. broke in is past, along with some other posts.

did you read through the manual fully to get a grasp of what is going on and how to do this stuff yet?
steve

[01boneless]

lol dude im not that dumb haha its still apart lol im just wainting on a feller gage and gasket haha so how do you break you motor in? also does the life span of my rings sound ok?

[01boneless]

and yes ive read the manual 3 times and understand it compleatly well execpt how to install the rings lol

[honda400ex2003]

i meant on offense there lol. i was confused with the whole wording thing going on with the different tenses.


i break mine in by doing 20 minute practice runs for 5-7 runs worth. i do a cool down in-between each one and make sure i get it up to full temp for a while during the ride. it is easy in summer but gets tough when it gets cooler outside.

steve

[01boneless]

Originally posted by honda400ex2003
i meant on offense there lol. i was confused with the whole wording thing going on with the different tenses.


i break mine in by doing 20 minute practice runs for 5-7 runs worth. i do a cool down in-between each one and make sure i get it up to full temp for a while during the ride. it is easy in summer but gets tough when it gets cooler outside.

steve

haha your ok dude and that sounds good . but WHAT do you think of the lifespan of my last rings 200-250 hours? lol i think you got so scared i put it together without the hone you dident notice the question lol

[honda400ex2003]

you did lol

i think that 200 hours is poor to ok on a set of rings but it all depends really.

it is hard to judge since i dont keep track of hours on mine, i keep track of miles a bit though. i would say that 5000 miles would be acceptable. at 30 mph this is only 166 hours. I ride more along the lines of 20 mph on trails here so 250 hours would be acceptable. 20 or 30 as an average is very fast, cars hardly have that kind of average alot of times and they get driven alot more. i think more like 10 mph is more like it, that's 500 hours for 5000 miles.

200 hours in the short time that you have had those rings in would be a very high riding application. hours a day would be more like getting 200 in.

8 hours a day for 30 days is 240 hours, i guess that is alot of riding but not really that crazy over a summer. thats only 2.6 hours a day for 90 days straight.

sorry for the comparisons lol i worked it out as i was typing it to see how close i estimate stuff in my head.

steve

[01boneless]

lol im guessing it was not honed last time or its lean ut it runs good and only has a slight poping on decel and plug is always blackish brown to greyish brown if anything its a little rich lol im learning though lol im to the point now i could take the plastic tank and carb apart in ten flat lol the topend suprisingly came apart very smothly though hopefully it goes to gether easy ive already repaired every bolt hole that was striped and cleaned the shavings and old oil out of the parts still have some carbin on the valves and top of the piston though lol and a gasket that baked itsef on

[honda400ex2003]

it sounds like you are learning alot! mission accomplished for me.

it will go together well as long as you take your time and check it over well.

i dont think that it was running lean either, i would put money on saying that it was not honed and that is the main cause for your issues.

:) steve

[01boneless]

lol yeah you and cjm help alot all though cjm is realy agaist thread inserts lol but ya im gonna put blue locktight on the cam sprocket bolts and adjust the valves befor im done anything else you can think of ? and yeah id say it wasent honed last time either thats what i like about doing it my self when its at the shop i almost want to go and watch them work lol the shop orderd namura gaskets but i canceled them imeditly!!! and got cometic mls

[honda400ex2003]

inspect the cam chain guides for wear

i would also take the clutch cover off and clean the filter that is down in the lower front corner. it is held on by a 10 mm bolt and worth checking out.

check out your clutch fibers and such also while in there.

when putting your cam chain tensioner back in make sure you back it out fully after tightening. then release it to set the tension properly. you will want to check the timing with the tensioner out anyway, it will give a false reading and could appear to be a tooth off with it in and under tension.

other than that, double and triple check it and make sure you properly torque everything in the right order by crisscrossing the pattern. dont go around each one. one on each side and work your way around just like lug nuts.

once you get it together and fire it up it is the best feeling to have. to know you got it running and such yourself feels good. you dont want to overlook something and have to go back and do it again.

it might start a bit hard but shouldnt be much different than how it would be started during normal use. do the same routine to get it started as you would just going to ride it. it will probably run a bit rough at first which is expected. dont let it sit and idle for a long time. either get it running, get everything flowing and shut it down or get on it and ride it. Dont let it get to full temp without running it while doing so. dont get crazy, just keep the rpms fluctuating to help it run and get it going till it warms up. then get riding it harder to get them seated properly.

the first couple of rides are critical not to let it sit and idle for a long time imo. this is a much debated topic though, alot of guys will idle it until warm and shut it down a few times before riding it. imo its too late, theres no compression to seat it well then.

if you have a couple of jet sizes over what you are running now it would be a good idea to drop one in there also. like a 162 or 165 for break in purposes. preferably a 162 imo.

just a few thoughts for you, im going to bed now lol. night,
steve