Old timer at the shop taught me how to set ring gaps by feel...

I was working on a 350 small block last month for a customer's Chevy pickup. This old guy, must be 70 plus, walked over and watched me using the feeler gauge for a good 10 minutes. He just shook his head and said "you're overthinking it kid." Then he showed me this trick where you file the ring to where it just slides in with a tiny bit of drag, no gauge needed. Said he's done it that way for 40 years and never had a failure. Has anyone else run into those old school methods that actually work better than the book says?

2 comments

2 Comments

mia74813d ago

The feeler gauge method has its place, but I've noticed that ring gap tolerances are way tighter now than they were back then. The old timer's trick isn't about being sloppy, it's about understanding how the ring actually expands under real heat, not just what the manual says. Most people don't realize that a .005 difference in gap on a street motor usually won't hurt a thing, but a rings that's too loose can cost you compression over time. That drag method sounds risky with modern thin rings though, especially if you're dealing with anything forged or gapless.

kelly_west7413d ago

Oh man, nobody ever talks about how ring gap changes with different cylinder finishes - a rougher hone can actually close up your gap faster than a smooth one as things wear in.