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rings- to lube or not 2 lube?

T

Tony in Mass.

Well-known Member
I am ready to put the pistons back in a Standard diesel, I can't locate the early this winter posts I saw on whether to put a dose of assembly grease in the rings or just motor oil. So now it's up for a vote...thanks in advance, tony
 
light motor oil. a lot of the guys are using atf anymore. I dip whole piston and ring assembly in 10 wt oil and make sure all rings and ring grooves oiled.Paul
 
The proper way is to have a can of the oil that you are going to use in the engine when you run it. put it in an open container big enough to dip your hand in then liberally coat the cylinder walls then coat the piston using your hand dipped into the oil so that it gets in and around the rings, set ring according to manual. then use a ring compressor to install the piston.
I have built hundreds of engines and never had a problem with this method. Some people use a grease that will dissolve in oil like Lubriplate on the bearings but I have found a good dose of engine oil will work at well. Don't be shy on the oil you can't use to much as it will run off into the crankcase.
Walt
 
I always have coated the walls with oil with my hand, enough where its dripping down into the crankcase, then dipped the pistons into oil, then installed. Excess oil burns off or goes into the crankcase.

Hope this helps
 
Unless it will be started SOON after assembly, I think it's important to use an assembly lube (such as the stuff made by Sealed Power) which is sticky and will stay in place MUCH better than engine oil 'til the engine is started PLUS contains additives to prevent piston scuffing and protects the cam and lifters from galling.

<img src = "http://3rdstrikeperformance.com/images/55-400.jpg">
 
Back in 67 whenI was in Auto Mech school, the instructor would use a mix of castor oil and STP. He just liked the smell of the castor oil when it started.
 
I just use motor oil. Before and after I fit the pistons in. Wipe a generous amount in there with my hand. Just started one today that I had the pistons out of.
Rewarding to hear it roar to life.
Big blue cloud of stink from all that extra oil in the bores.
 
Assembly lube is great for bearings, lifters and the rest of the engine but may not allow the rings to seat properly. I always use John Deere break in oil on rings and cylinder walls as well as in crankcase during break in period. As someone else said it is expensive but designed for the job. Deere formulated the break in oil after having problems with rings not seating using regular oil.
 
I did similar to what Bob did on my diesel 262 in a D17. I thoroughly coated the cylinders with assembly lube. I oiled the pistons and put some assembly lube on them since it was going to be a while before the engine was started. It has about 5 hours on it so far. It starts easily and stops smoking after about 15 seconds run time on a cold start
 
I bet you and Bob are going to put a curse on it if I don't cooperate... just catching up from the last curse, but the head is still in the city, and I haven't messed with injectors in 20 years, so yeah, it 'may just' not be running for another month- or more. Maybe both ideas huh? Lube for now? just to get it together, and dump a few ounces in each a few days before... the day it 'might' start again?
 
I went to "Diesel and Heavy Equipment" school
at Western Wisconsin Technical Institute in
1968, and then was employed by Chicago, Burlington and Quincy,(CB&Q), which became
Burlington Northern, Then, Burlington Northern
Santa Fe, as a locomotive mechanic. We were taught to dip(smaller)pistons, rings installed,
in a coffee can of crankcase lube oil. Then apply
the ring compresser and install the piston. It
sure was drippy and messy though, but i've always
done it that way since.
On locomotives, the pistons were part of a "Power
Assembly" that was installed complete, consisting
of piston/rod, sleeve, and head. They were mighty
oiley, so I presume they were "Prelubed". That
was on General Motors 16V645, 3000 horsepower
engines. (V16, 645 cubic inch per cylinder)
 
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