Glossary / Engine

piston rings

35 Episode Mentions

Too Afraid to Ask

Piston rings are small metal pieces inside an engine that keep the oil from leaking and help the engine run smoothly. If they wear out, the engine can lose power and burn oil.

Technical Definition

Piston rings are metal rings that fit inside a cylinder of an engine. They seal the combustion chamber, control oil consumption, and help transfer heat from the piston to the cylinder wall.

Hear It Discussed

"All the stuff, the piston rings, all the things. [3344.1s] It is coming from there."
Hoovie is Here! What is Mercedes Thinking? New Manual BMW M3! Gullwing Issues! THIS CAR POD! with Doug DeMuro & Friends! 55:42

"And when I walked around outside, I found some piston rings lying around. [1198.2s] And now I got a real problem with what mechanic describes as piston slap."
#2635: Knock, Knock... The Best of Car Talk 19:53

"If you go out and you put a like, I don't know, max life or any of those, like we just talked to earlier, fully synthetic, you run the risk of not seeding in the piston rings. And when you do that,..."
Save Money On Car Repairs With Our Car Talk Show Under The Hood show 19:34