Gasket or piston ring?

[Stee111e]

Cylinder two had really low compression, coolant was quite dark with possible oil contamination. Took the head off to investigate.

Is this ring part of a piston ring or part of the gasket that sealed around the cylinder?

[AdeTuono]

I would say gasket. Check the radius, and thickness. A ring would be thicker, of a tighter radius and brittle.

[GreenV8S]

Looks like part of the fire ring. It's too thin to be a piston ring. That piece looks big enough to confirm that by laying it around the edge of the bore. If the inner edge lines up with the edge of the bore, it was outside the bore so must be part of the gasket.

[Turn7]

AdeTuono said:

I would say gasket. Check the radius, and thickness. A ring would be thicker, of a tighter radius and brittle.

Check the gasket for misssing bits if its still in one peice.

[DVandrews]

Got to be the gasket, a piece of ring that size wouldnt be able to pass up the piston into the chamber in one piece. It would have knocked nine bells out of the chamber and piston if it were there when the engine was running.

Dave