I don't have my computer handy, or I'd show you what the picture of the diagram for the piston ring gaps.

It looks like some sort of strange religious symbol with a bunch of degrees thrown in to make it impossibly confusing.

I have an 82 2.4L 4 cyl, and I am going to be putting the motor together hopefully tomorrow. I *need* to know just what they mean by the diagram.

Please, can someone help me?

 

Are you talking about this picture:


Or maybe this picture:


If so it refers to the piston gap alignment. You want all of your ring gaps to be roughly 90* off set.

 

Do those apply to the 82 2.4 l pickup? No, the pic I am talking about is three or four x's drawn in a circle with degrees between some of the lines. it is insanely confusing. But those pictures are very simple and easy to understand.

 

The main thing is just don`t have the ring gaps close to each other .

Just think if all the ring gaps were lined up your rings would never seal leaving the engine unable to build compression.

 

Same general idea. Just 60°/120° offset from each other and 30° offset from center(top to bottom). Instead of 90°/90° offset from each other and 45° offset from center(top to bottom).

 

Yes, that's the picture I was talking about.

Now that I look at it, the two twenty degree marks threw me off.

What are those spikes sticking out from the piston itself? Is that the ideal orientation?

 

They are imaginary lines representing the gap widths of the 4 individual rings, and where they should be oriented in relation to the piston face.

Like those in the pic below(just much skinnier in the pic above).


Yes. Though, for whatever reason, they decided that it wasn't ideal on later versions of the same engine.