Viper ring replacement

mr. shide

mr. shide

New member
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
Messages
48
Age
45
Location
Tipton, Indiana
Getting ready to install new rings on 02 viper. Compression is low but consistent in all cylinders, top speed is still good and fuel mileage excellent, plenty of power, so it seems.
Anyway I was just looking for any tips/suggestions to make the job a little easier or quicker, if possible. by the way are rings 17.00 a piece or set? I am assuming piece?
 
Last edited:
When we bought our rings for our SX it was as a set. 2 rings in 1 box (both needed per piston).
 
why are you replaceing the rings? how many miles? friend of mine has a srx with 12000 miles still has factory rings in it and compresion is only 5lbs less then it was new, check yours with a good gauge,bad of worn rings will make starting and idle quality and low speed problems and may not pull wot rpms as quick just my 2 cents
 
i have 7500 miles. only have about 75-85lbs. but that was checking with a half junk tetster. May just run it till it starts running poorly? I dont drag race or run it too hard. I do ride the trails fairly hard but rarely will run it up to top speed. Starts easily, idles fine, got 13 mpg on a trip earlier in december on hard packed trails!
 
No...

ITS time for rings,will it run for 10-12,000 miles? sure it will but you have blow by and loosing performance and efficacy with out you noticing it and a chance of skirt failure because it happens slowly over time. it's time for a refreshing.

you'll need HG,exhaust gasket,etc,base you may getaway with reusing that one.

do a search on rings you'll have lots of good reading why you need too
 
Last edited:
Yamaha sells the rings as a set. I just bought 6 sets for my SRX's, two rings to a box. While you have the top-end of the engine apart, it would be a good idea to measure the critical dimensions of the pistons and cylinder bore. Any decent machine shop in your area should be able to help with these measurements. No sense in putting ne rings on worn out pistons. The cracked piston skirts which Daman reffered to is caused by excessive piston to cylinder wall clearance allowing the pistons to "rattle" around putting stress on the piston skirt. Clean you carbs and power valves as part of this project and you engine should run as good as new.
 
ITS time for rings,will it run for 10-12,000 miles? sure it will but you have blow by and loosing performance and efficacy with out you noticing it and a chance of skirt failure because it happens slowly over time. it's time for a refreshing.
Click to expand...

x2, if it were mine i'd be getting ready for the third set, not the first
 
i would agree with that mileage it wouldnt hurt to change them and the pistons, look real close at the locating pin for the rings on the pistons and the skirts
 
this is the pricing I got in the spring from the dealer here:
piston 140.00 each x3
rings 50.08 each x3
pin 18.92 each x3
circlips 4.60 each x6
bearing 14.14 each x3
seals 9.22 each x6
gasket $23.93 x1
 
alot of the high mileage older sleds without nicasil would egg out easily if the rings were never changed. When this happens you need to bore the Cylinder out or resleeve to get the bore straight again. people brag about their high mileage un-opened top end but it wont be long till they lose a skirt out the case.
 
rx1jim said:
While you have the top-end of the engine apart, it would be a good idea to measure the critical dimensions of the pistons and cylinder bore. Any decent machine shop in your area should be able to help with these measurements. No sense in putting ne rings on worn out pistons. The cracked piston skirts which Daman reffered to is caused by excessive piston to cylinder wall clearance allowing the pistons to "rattle" around putting stress on the piston skirt.
Click to expand...


This IMO is the primary reason for Yamaha's recommended interval. As mentioned in another post, there is minimal (less than 3%) drop in performance with high milage/old rings. I agree with Daman that the drop in perfomance could creep up on you (kinda like worn shocks on a car), but I've not noticed any difference in arse-o-meter performance in any of my sleds when performing PM ring replacements.

As Tom S. mentioned, going longer with cast iron cylinders wasn't an option due to wear of the thrust sides of the cylinder. With plated cylinders, you don't have the same where of the cylinder to deal with but the piston will ware quicker. Chrome vs. aluminum. (Sorry again Stagges, just couldn't help myself).

Of course if you have the pistons out to check clearances, doesn't make much sense to put them back in without new rings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top