Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): 1996, piston rings, damage occured

Question
Hello Michael, I have a 1996 lawnboy with a 2 Stroke Engine. that wont start and the starter cord wont even budge. I ended up seing that I only had gasoline instead of gas and oil in the mix. I thought the engine was seized but I took appart and i did not see anything wrong with it. The rings seemed ok but when i wiped the grease off of the piston it revealed a little scrape. I am woundering if the piston rings failed because of the lack of lubrication. When I bought the new rings I compared old to new but the new seemed wider so I am thinking it could have been the rings. I havent put the engine back together yet. Can you think of anything else that might have been wrong with it? Or anything that I should check that mabe has failed. P.S. I noticed while rotating the piston freely in the cylinder the piston when retracted was sometimes hitting a part from the crankshaft! The model number is: 10227. Thanks for you help!  

Answer
Hi Mike,

A 2 stroke relies on the oil in the fuel for its entire lubrication.  Running it with out oil will either cause seizure or other overheating, wear and damage to any internal moving part.  A frozen recoil (unless it just had a jammed rope) would indicate seizure.  If no other damage occured, you may be able to just replace the rings and hone the cylinder walls.  The noise you hear in the crankcase may be a problem.  If you do decide to re-assemble it, check the crankcase for any signs of damage, including the bearings.

Let me know how you make out.
Michael