550A Cylinder Rings

[redneckracin]

Good Afternoon all.

I recently dropped the engine from the 550 off at the local diesel shop. The guy tearing it down called me in to look over a few things. The biggest question that I have is what would cause every 2nd piston ring to break? Engine had good power (or so it seemed) but had tons of blowby and was the reason i took the engine in to have it worked on. Could it have been a cheap rebuild kit from the previous owner? Thanks for any help.

[Jim B]

What does the diesel shop say it looks like? Problems in/with the ring grooves of the pistons? Wrong end gaps? Wrong rings? Installation? I would have expected some top ring damage from starting fluid detonation.

Are you having new liners, pistons, and rings installed or trying to reuse some parts.