More Piston/Ring Questions

[OK-944]

Adding to my earlier piston removal post: I’m quite certain that my engine does not actually need to be re-ringed (170 K miles but great history, no real oil consumption except for drips, great plugs, compression feels good) - but to get this engine down to the basement I’d need to strip it as much as possible, and I’d like to refresh parts as much as possible (maybe some media blasting also), so would want to remove the pistons regardless.

I’ve seen a few posts regarding the “difficulty” of re-ringing alusil blocks…but assuming that the current rings are fine, are there any issues with simply leaving them on their pistons, and re-installing into the block?

Another question - what is the issue (or issues) with installing new rings - aside from perhaps a bit of filing to ensure correct ring gaps?

Finally…if I find the diameters of the cylinders to be out of spec - would this automatically mean that new rings need to be installed, regardless of my getting decent compression/minimal oil consumption with the current rings? Thanks!

[v2rocket_aka944]

If the oil consumption is minimal leave it alone.

The 911 guys are so confused about alusil you're really better ignoring them, if that's where you've been reading.

You could, if you wanted, pull the crank and leave the pistons/rods in the bores... the block is about 60 lbs plus another 8 or so for pistons and rods.