Thermostats or restrictors for 1981 115 hp Johnson

[ruddy mudder]

Got a 1981 115 Johnson with lots of hours on it. Pulled it apart and re-ringed it with new rings and a good set of used std. pistons. I honed the cylinders to remove the glaze and minor scratches, there was no deep scoring. My question is this, do I use new 143 thermostats or gut the old ones of their centers and use them as a water restrictor to help reduce any excessive piston slap and wear? Somebody tossed this idea to me and figured I'd throw out there for you guys to chew on. Does make some sense, might idle a little rough which I can live with, this is a budget recon, not the premium do over.

 

[racerone]

Sorry----That makes no sense to me.

 

[Faztbullet]

Only seen a few good used piston and you need stats

 

[healey8390]

I did new rings on mine with used pistons and don't have any problems of piston slap. Some will scoff at this and I'm not "recommending" it, but my budget is what guides my decisions. Unfortunately that may not be enough for a "proper" rebuild.

 

[Faztbullet]

Piston slap is not caused by rings....it the skirts. The ring groove wears..

 

[healey8390]

Piston slap is not caused by rings....it the skirts. The ring groove wears..

So the rings wear into the grooves thus not keeping the pistons far enough from the wall?

Is there a rule of thumb on how long this takes?

 

[racerone]

When the piston clearance near the rings get to about 0.018 / 0.020" and it does that.------- These tapered rings rings move in and out al the time !!-----It wears the groove,----New rings will not seat / seal properly.-----It seems to me that it is a difficult concept for me to get across.