K-301 Piston Ring Frustration!! -Photos

[Polaris2007 4]

Okay, so my new piston ring set showed up in the mail today. I was very excited to go install them. But....to my surprise, the rings I got are COMPLETELY different from the set that came with the piston. And JUST LIKE the first set, there are NO DIRECTIONS WHATSOEVER!! I did get the new set from the same e-store online, and spoke to the same guy that I originally ordered the rebuild set from. The good news is that all three of the new rings fit in the grooves in the piston perfectly. The oil Ring looks symetrical, So I assume that it can go in either side up? the top two rings are the same thickness, and will fit in either groove, but they are not the same. Below I will post a close-up picture of each ring. I need two know A. which ring goes on top? and B. for each of the rings, which side is the top? If anyone can help out, I would REALLY appreciate it. I'm very excited to get this engine up and running, hopefully smoke free. Thanks in advance Jon H.

Oil Ring:

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

[Polaris2007 4]

Chamfered Ring:

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

[Polaris2007 4]

Grooved Ring:

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

[rmaynard 16,327]

First pictured ring goes in the bottom groove. This is your oil control ring. Insert this one first from the top of the piston. Inserting rings from the bottom may scratch the piston.

Grooved ring (3rd picture) is a compression ring and goes in the second groove, with cut-out down. Insert next.

Chamfered ring (2nd picture) is also a compression ring and goes in the top groove, with chamfer up. Insert last.

Place openings at 120 degree intervals from each other.

Most rings should be marked with a dot or a T on the top side. If not, follow those instructions above.

Good luck.

Bob

[sorekiwi 761]

Here is the table of ring profiles from the "Kohler Guide to Engine Rebuilding".

[Polaris2007 4]

Thanks for the responses guys. My K-301 is now all back together with the rings installed correctly, and everything torqued to the specs in the service manual. It will spend the night hanging on the overhead lift, and tomorrow I will lower it onto the C-121 and see how it goes. Thanks again....Jon H.

[Polaris2007 4]

WOO HOO!!! I got the K-301 installed back in the tractor and it is up and running.......with NO SMOKE WHATSOEVER!! Thanks for all the great advice Red Square. You guys are the greatest! :thumbs:

[WH nut 553]

Thats good to hear, Happy Horseing

[rmaynard 16,327]

WOO HOO!!! I got the K-301 installed back in the tractor and it is up and running.......with NO SMOKE WHATSOEVER!! Thanks for all the great advice Red Square. You guys are the greatest!

Glad to have been able to help.

Bob

[Save Old Iron 1,571]

So what do you believe was the reason for the smoke on the first rebuild ?

by the way - great way to highlight the ring profile - with the orange outline !

I learned a new trick from your post. Thanks

[WH nut 553]

Old iron

He had over lapped the oil expander ring instaead of butting the ends

[rmaynard 16,327]

He had over lapped the oil expander ring instead of butting the ends

How in the world do you do that? :thumbs:

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

How in the world do you do that?

You can't with the one-piece oil ring, but it's very easy to do on the three-piece with the corrugated expander "spring".

At least someone finally got smart enough to start painting the ends of the expander different colors to make it easier to see them. :)

[WH nut 553]

How in the world do you do that?

You can't with the one-piece oil ring, but it's very easy to do on the three-piece with the corrugated expander "spring".

At least someone finally got smart enough to start painting the ends of the expander different colors to make it easier to see them.

Exactly :wh:

[Polaris2007 4]

Yep, I'm embarassed to say that WH-nut is correct. I overlapped the end corregations on the expander. I had never seen that type of oil control ring before, and there were NO instructions. It appeared to me that if I butted the ends, then all the other corregations would be forced out and rub on the cylinder wall, and this seemed terribly wrong to me. So my only alternative was to slightly bend open the last corregation on one end so it would accept the end corregation on the other end of the expander, kind of like two spoons in a drawer. So this allowed the top oil ring to flop down like a windshield wiper blade when the piston was moving up,....... and on the downstroke, the bottom oil ring would flop up like a windshield wiper blade. Hence the oil getting by the piston and being burned in the cylinder. Live and learn. :thumbs: