VOLVO MD7A piston rings

[paulsmith]

A surveyor says my engine(1980 in a westerly griffon) is showing very early signs of piston ring wear. Whilst not a problem yet, I would like to be prepared for when the time comes.Is it just a case of fitting new rings, Can it be done in situ,Is it a DIY job?are the bits available? etc etc.

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[waverider]

If you are unable to remove the sump pan and cylinder head in situ, you will have to remove the engine to a bench or engine stand were you can carry out a decent thorough job paul.

Is the Griffon similar to the Seahawk? if so it will be easier to take out the engine!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by waverider on 12/10/2004 23:26 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[boatless]

The very earliest sign of piston ring wear? That could be unwrapping them ready to fit, or, more charitably, about to start the engine for the first time. That's a bit of a guarded diagnosis! Are there any signs of a symptom yet?

Don't think you need to start tearing it apart just yet.....

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[Nickcf]

as Boatless says unclear diagnosis by a surveyor- what is he basing it on I wonder?
Assuming he is correct though, given the age of the engine, it would be penny wise, pound foolish to just consider changing the rings. Everything else will be worn as well, ie bores, pistons and crank so just changing the rings and potentially increasing the compression back to normal would only cause the other components to then fail more quickly.

nick

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[jeffro]

Just done one in a Griffon engine has to come out Very expensive as others say you should replace all moving parts Be better to run it until it is about to0 expire overheating followed by partial siezing caused by blocked waterways then replace it with a beta good luck Jeffro

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[robind]

Do you have a problem starting? if no? dont touch it. all volvos of this age smoke(if thats what spurred the surveyor to comment) Thats why many owners say that they would make a great anchor. Anyway what qualification does the surveyor have that he can look at an engine and make such a prognosis? as stated before they (the rings) start to wear from day one. and piecemeal rebuilds are not a good thing, you need to replace liners bearings etc, gets costly so consider a japanese replacement (mitsubishi or Yanma etc)
Regards
Rob

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[paulsmith]

the signs are,presence of oil lube smoke in the exhaust when cold and slight crankcase compression

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[robind]

Ah! so its standard Volvo then. No worries.
it starts OK and the smoke reduces as it warms up? I have known newly rebuilt engines that show the same signs as yours until they are "run in"
regards
Rob

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[Keith]

Don't worry about it i had mine finally stop when the top ring was in eight peices and the bottom was in twelve on one cylinder, slammed new rings in, on again.........keith

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