Thanks for taking a look, Dave. The 2nd ring is more like gunk than corrosion.
At the top of the cylinder wall, I believe that’s the “carbon ring” that Clymer and others say not to remove or you risk excessive oil consumption. I could use some educating on that…
I like things clean. To me, all gunk is bad. I want to clean it so bad. But, I guess gunk in the right places acts as a sealant (keeps the oil out of the combustion chamber).
New motor = no gunk, no carbon, get the rings to seat during the break-in period and let the fresh carbon build-up do its sealing job…. Right??..
Rebuilt motor with fresh cylinder bore/hone and a new piston …. Same thing…
Disassemble, Inspect, no rebuild, reassemble…. If you clean off the carbon ring, won’t it just make a fresh mess in 300-400 miles? You’d want to take it easy anyway and give it something of a break-in period just like a new motor or rebuild…
I’m really struggling with why you shouldn’t clean up the old carbon mess. Again, I like clean…. I suppose if I think about it and answer my own question….it has to do with new parts having super tight clearances while used parts are rather worn in. Too bad it doesn’t work like washing a t-shirt and comes out of the dryer a little snug and you have to wear it a few days in a row to make it comfortable and broken in.