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Well, time to take the engine out again!

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Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
Thanks... will try calling tomorrow... mean time I got AlldataDIY but its just the same as the IIHS link... No mention of colours anywhere..

Odd, you would think its such a basic and important piece of info that it would be all over the place.
 
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Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
Mine is:

.......TOP
Pink gap Green
Yellow gap Orange
Oil
......BOTTOM

Didn't realize before that there were two color marks!

Bottom of the bottom ring has a groove near the perimeter.

Looks like they are both 1.20 mm

IMG_6610.JPGIMG_6608.JPG
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
Called Ford Performance..... they had no idea... They looked though the manual and found zip, hoping to get a email later as they ask around. The problem is that the two top rings do not have the groove, just the colours
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
I'm pretty sure the top ring would just match mine. I didn't see a visible draft/bevel to either ring. Is there anything else on the orange/purple ring you can see?
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
I think so too.... was suprised that nothing is in the manual!! Am using your foto as the "official guide" That and another TMOer mentioend the same colour combo on facebook.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
Well nothing back from Ford yet, But looking at the Ring gap... Logically the gap should be less in the top ring (just as in Grants photo) and thats the Pink/Green one, both in the photo and in our pistons case....

So full speed ahead!
 
1,246
1,243
In the V6L
What happens if you ignore the colors and look for the more traditional up/down markings? I just did a set of google searches and they all go back to the same set of answers: there's a usually a mark on the top of the compression rings - either a laser etch, a letter or a small dot. If it doesn't have a mark, then there's a very slight chamfer on the top inside edge of the ring. It's what Hastings and Mahle both say, as well as specialty makers like JE.

It could be that the colors are there to enable the builder to do a final check of the assembled pistons to make sure all the rings are the same way up. The colors themselves may not mean anything - it only matters that all the pistons look the same.

The other thing all the searches said is that the top ring is usually shiny and the second ring is usually dark finished.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
I know... I went through the same thoughts!! But in this case the green was the darker ring o_O.... But the point markers are right way up etc. Both the top rings have the point...... the fact that the ring gap was less in the "green" ring...and Grants foto showed the same, where the tipping points.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
Oh man you had to talk to Matt K... :)

FWIW the Ford Performance chat line typically only troubleshoots issues with Ford Performance upgrade kits and parts--so they don't have staff to answer an engineering questions or production vehicle stuff. So that response may take a bit :)
 
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6,360
8,181
If you have the old rings, just compare the profiles of the old, with the new.. The oil control rings are pretty self explanatory, stay away from the thrust surfaces with the gaps, don't line the gaps up and and don't line up the spring with the gaps.
You might want to lightly file the end of the compression ring gaps to rid yourself of any burrs that could dig into the piston ring lands.
 

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