oily bores

[steve davidson]

Steve,

what are the origin of your rings?

Some have a correct orientation - a dot marking the 'upper' side.

The rings I use are very hard and require about 2000-3000 miles before being run in properly.

The rings came from our club's spare parts department, we've got a meeting tonight so I'll ask the question there about bedding issues.  I'm pretty happy that I got the orientation correct but stranger things have happened, will pop them off for a quick check.  Thanks for the response, all good points

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From your photos your pistons don't look very old ?
I'm not a fan of the old fashioned split skirt 4 ring pistons and for the cost fitted a more modern design.High silicone pistons expand very little and don't need the split skirts.
Have you asked your reconditioner for advice on the oil burning issue ? I would think if its burning oil to that degree it will never be very good.
If I were using those pistons I would fit the oil baffles.The oil pressure relief valve isn't adjustable and in a splash feed engine will only open when the oil is cold and engine revving.
I would be concerned if I was getting 15 psi hot,perhaps a blocked jet?
Have you tried taking the oil filler cap off when running to see how much back pressure/blow by there is ? Maybe the crankcase pressure is pushing oil up the bores.

Also worth checking what oil you are using. 
Crap 20/50, mono grade or running in oil I hope. Nothing sophisticated 

Charles

Hi Charles,

Your idea to remove the filler cap and have a look inside while running is very logical (wish I'd thought of it before I dropped the piston out).  With respect to the oil pressure relief valve I didn't think it was adjustable but when I checked the big red book (Austin Seven Manual by Woodrow) they nominate that external plug as an adjusting screw.   I think if I had my time over again I'd just put in solid skirts.  As for oil she's on the same Penrite HPR30 20W/60 that the previous engine used without fault.