'05 Budget Engine Rebuild

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Going to go the shade tree route until I get a better idea. Will pull an old ring off the old piston and measure the end gap. As soon as the sun comes up.
This has been bugging me all night. Losing sleep over it...not the first time.

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

That was an epic bad idea. Just about soiled myself when I saw a huge gap after taking an old ring off #1 piston and putting it in.
Then I took a ring off the #2 piston and it was right at 0.011 gap.
I need to get the new rings or (all joking aside) a good micrometer reading at three depths in the cylinder bore. Saying a prayer this block doesn't need machining.

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Vendor said they would try and send the missing parts as soon as possible. No time frame.
In the mean time I'll swap the rods onto the new pistons, reinstall the cam and crank, then give some focus to the head.

 

[jghflys]

Then I took a ring off the #2 piston and it was right at 0.011 gap.

.011 ring gap is too tight for engines that are worked hard. The ring gap from the factory was too tight and broke rings on hard working engines. My 2005 3500 and my son's 2006 2500 both broke rings. My local diesel shop and the engine rebuilder I used both agreed on the cause, too tight ring gap.
Here is Mahle says. https://www.mahle-aftermarket.com/m...s/support_technical_bulletins_pdfs/tb7002.pdf

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Agree w/ jghflys. I will go a little looser on the ring gap. I read that Mahle doesn't want the customer to need to file the rings, but I didn't see anywhere in the memo that the rings can't be filed. I'll assume they can be.
First I have to get the parts. Got crickets chirping from vendor.
I'll give 'em a couple days.

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Put a little pigmentation on the block.

 

[jghflys]

Put a little pigmentation on the block.

I like the red, looks good from here.

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Heard from the vendor. Actually, I had to call them up to get a response about the rings.
They say mid-November ETA. Will just have to complete other tasks and work around it.

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Cleaned the head off today. No major issues w/ the head. That I can see anyway.
Did find some peculiar substance in #6 and some carbon build up in #1.

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Images above show #1 cylinder's valves. The carbon,will of course, clean up. But that begs the question of what caused it.
Reading from other rebuild posts it may have been caused by a bad injector which probably caused the overheat condition, and caused the ring to break as well.
So, new injectors? I don't think I could put this back together with the old injectors. But the budget doesn't have that allowance unless I stretch the timeline. So my February-ish completion date is more June-ish So I can buy injectors.
If somebody has a good idea for fuel stabilization I'd like to hear it. Got almost a full tank of diesel and it might be 8 months before the truck fires up and its already been sitting for two months.

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

 

[Dysfunctional Vet]

So that last set of pictures show a white substance build up on #6 cylinder valves.
Anybody have a clue what that is?
This was the other cylinder that had broken rings.