Gapless rings for 3.83" bore??

LarryH

Registered User
According to Diamond, Total Seal only makes a Gapless 2nd ring for the 3.83" bore. Can anyone confirm this and what would be the differene between a gapless top vs. gapless 2nd anyway?

Also, is anyone successfully running a high end build (possibly on the bottle) and the fel pro head gaskets?
Thanks,
Larry
 
When I got my total seals the first set was wrong. The 2nd set were correct (I'm using the older 3.8 TRW forged pistons with thicker rings). I believe they were for a .020" over Buick 3.8 that was .001" or .003" different from what a Ford 3.8 is. However, the end gap was still well within specs.
 
Larry, I talked to the total seal tech line last week and asked that question. He didn't give me hardly any details but you can run it there. He didn't recommend it for a street driven car though.

Call Jegs and ask for the TS tech number. I tried ordering them though summit but they were pricks about the whole thing so I have now switched to jegs.

Anyway, good luck.
 
You cant run a gapless top ring. Thats what seels the rings is gasses getting under the rings. The second ring is the only one that can be gapless.
 
I just installed a set of Total Seal rings in a HD EVO motor tonight and right there in the instructions they said they have gapless top ring sets and gapless second ring sets. Now I dont know if the gapless top ring sets are for a special aplication or not, I was'nt installing the gapless top ring set so I did'nt pay alot of attention to it. I'll find out more tomarrow about them.
The ring set you want for the SC engine are part #7174. They are listed as for the 232 ci Supercharged 3.8L 89-95 engine.
They are available in std. 96.80MM bore or 3.811" for the non metric crowd, oversizes of .020-.030-.040. There are also 2 versions available the "TSI gapless"(for normal street use) or the "TSS gapless(for extreme use)
I installed .030 TSS set in my SC engine.
You should always talk to the mfg of parts before trying to order them because that saves alot of confussion and prevents mistakes. Retailers do not know everything about every part they sell. Another tip would be to buy them direct from Total Seal because you dont get them any cheaper from Summit or Jegs and you will get your rings quicker as well.
Toll free order line: (800) 874-2753
Technical line: (623) 587-7400
24 hr Fax line: (623) 587-7600
Website: www.totalseal.com
E-mail: totseal@amug.org
They accept Mastercard, Visa and American Express and ship either UPS or FedEx.
Talk to the tech line and see what they recomend.
My part # was 7174 TSS .030 :)

EDIT: I forgot to list the ring thickness for the 7174 set.
Top ring 1.5mm
Second ring 1.5mm
Oil ring 4.0mm
These are the stock ring thickness's for the SC pistons also.
The NA 3.8L thickness's are
Top ring 2.0mm
Second ring 2.0mm
Oil ring 4.0mm
 
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Those are the ones I got then. Man that was a lot for freakin rings. I hope they are worth it.
 
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