Us made piston rings are all going to be reliable and appropriate. The issue may be cylinder wall wear. almost every worn set of rings also has worn the cylinder wall just as much. The very top of the cylinder will not be worn because the rings do not go to the top of the cylinder, they stop maybe 3/8" down in the bore. The resulting ridge (between the unworn top and the most worn area just below it are the indicators of the need to resleeve the engine. This ridge also makes removing the pistons difficult (without accidently removing the sleeves at the same time. (this engine has sleeves that have "O"rings on the bottom, and seal at the head gasket on the top. They are exposed to the water in the block on their exterior surface for cooling. If there is more than .004" difference between the unworn area, and the worn zone (measured correctly with a bore micrometer, or telescopic gauges) on the diameter, it will be best to replace the sleeves, pistons, rod inserts, and rings. Either way it can be measured without taking off more than the head to access the bores. Ridge reaming and honing the cylinders will be necessary if you decide to keep the old cylinders. If they are not ridge reamed, the new rings will smack against the ridge and break parts while making terrible noise. By the time you do all this reaming, honing and fitting, you will have as much time/money in it as if you put in a Kit. The Kits on this site seem to be well made, noone is making complaints about them. Check the valve guides for wear while it is apart. Worn guides can also add oil to the engines combustion process. Good luck with your tractor project. JimN
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