Total Seal ring problem
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Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 27,897
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From: I have no tolerence for liberals and fools, but sometimes i repeat myself
CI 3-5-7-8-9 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08
Total Seal ring problem
A few months ago I finished the 383 in my 93. It was assembled with Total Seal's file fit street/race ring package (not the ultra low tension rings). Well to make a long story short, the motor never made enough vaccuum at idle, and starting burining oil (smoking) after about 500 miles. The machine work was done by an excellent machinist, and i personally assembled the motor (not my 1st). So pulled the motor back apart, utterly confused as to why it was burning oil. when i went to take the rings off the pistons, I noticed two things that were very odd. First off the rings had no "spring" to them, you could squeeze the end gap together and the ring would bend, and not return to shape, also noticed this when removing several rings. Second of all they were brittle, over half of the 2nd rings broke when trying to remove them. I don't know what happened as i am not a metallurgist, but something was wrong with the rings. The motor never overheated, no lack of oil, it was properly broken in, etc. This is just a warning about total seal rings. This is the second bad experience i ah had with them, the first being a set of low tension "trick" rings in our NHRA stocker.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: eville in
call them ,,Iv'e had great luck with them 
I did loose the spring (like you said) in a VW off-road engine,,,but it was hot and i slid off into a creek (water about 50deg.) and the cylinders where under..
it still ran (good at full throttle) but was the worst smoker iv'e ever seen
I did loose the spring (like you said) in a VW off-road engine,,,but it was hot and i slid off into a creek (water about 50deg.) and the cylinders where under..it still ran (good at full throttle) but was the worst smoker iv'e ever seen
Racer
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 359
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Anybody can have a batch of bad parts, or get a batch of bad metal when they make the parts. When you build as many ring sets as Total Seal does, thousands of sets could get out before they knew they had a problem. Call or write them and tell them what happened. Give them the chance to make it right.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 27,897
Likes: 9
From: I have no tolerence for liberals and fools, but sometimes i repeat myself
CI 3-5-7-8-9 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08
Originally Posted by comp
call them ,,Iv'e had great luck with them I did loose the spring (like you said) in a VW off-road engine,,,but it was hot and i slid off into a creek (water about 50deg.) and the cylinders where under..
it still ran (good at full throttle) but was the worst smoker iv'e ever seen
I did loose the spring (like you said) in a VW off-road engine,,,but it was hot and i slid off into a creek (water about 50deg.) and the cylinders where under..it still ran (good at full throttle) but was the worst smoker iv'e ever seen
