odd ball question, how many hours should piston rings be good for in a v1505 engine? its blowin blue smoke (i can post a video but the smoke is hard to see) Im pretty sure its the rings due to the fact that it drinks about a gallon of oil every 2 days and its not going into the oil and not into the coolant. i just did a new head and head gasket on it to actually i pretty much did almost an entire top end rebuild. and should i do main bearings and stuff too or just the rings?
it was suppoadly totally rebuilt about 3-4 years ago but it runs lots of hours and in hot condtions too so i dint know if that could be a major cause of it too
HELP???
I would do a leak down test. It could be that the compression rings are fine and the previous rebuilder didn't install the oil control rings properly. Or it could be that the cylinders are scored and the oil control rings cannot get a good seal. Either way, a leak down, NOT a compression test will give you the skinny. Probably just confirm what you suspect, that you are going to need to go thru the lower end of the engine.
As to the amount of hours rings are good for, it really depends upon the service, the maintenance and sometimes just the luck of the draw. I have seen rings last anywhere from a few hundred hours to close to 10 thousand.
As to the bearings, visual inspection and a plasti gauge check will determine if they can be continued in service or need replacement / crank turned.
As to the rebuild a few years ago, without paperwork you really have no idea of the "rebuild" performed, I mean was it a quick hone and re ring? Or a bore / liner and piston replacement? Two very different "rebuilds" but each can be considered a rebuild..... with very different life after "rebuilding" expectations.
David
