- Joined
- Jul 8, 2011
- Messages
- 2,668
When in doubt, tear it apart. If "a mate who used it a bit but let the oil run low & seized a piston", there may be other gremlins in there. I am really using my imagination here but excess oiling from the RH rod journal due to low oil damage might be a culprit. Still, a good oil control ring should handle most of that.
One other thing to have a look at is whether the engine is wet sumping and not scavenging oil. After you run it for a bit, shut it down and pull the drain plug on the engine botton and there should not be much oil at all there, maybe 1/4 cup or less. Someone here might have the official specs on that. This is an easy check. Wet sumping can be a result of numerous things. Maybe the seizure damaged the scavenge pump or partially plugged an oil gallery on the return side. The excess oil in a wet sump condition could overwhelm the oil control rings - but why only one?
Again, just my opinion here but an oil ring sticking is not something I have seen other than in seizures where aluminum has smeared across and locked the rings in place.
If the head is off or you are committed to taking the head off you are really not that far away from pulling the engine apart and checking rod bearings and journals for peace of mind.
One other thing to have a look at is whether the engine is wet sumping and not scavenging oil. After you run it for a bit, shut it down and pull the drain plug on the engine botton and there should not be much oil at all there, maybe 1/4 cup or less. Someone here might have the official specs on that. This is an easy check. Wet sumping can be a result of numerous things. Maybe the seizure damaged the scavenge pump or partially plugged an oil gallery on the return side. The excess oil in a wet sump condition could overwhelm the oil control rings - but why only one?
Again, just my opinion here but an oil ring sticking is not something I have seen other than in seizures where aluminum has smeared across and locked the rings in place.
If the head is off or you are committed to taking the head off you are really not that far away from pulling the engine apart and checking rod bearings and journals for peace of mind.