Patent ID: 8177495

Claim:
A seal assembly for a gas turbine engine including a first disk and a second disk, said seal assembly comprising: a seal member; a spacer radially inward of the seal member, said spacer couples the first disk to the second disk and an interstage seal ring positioned radially between said seal member and said spacer, said interstage seal ring comprising an axially forward member coupleable to a first radially inward surface of the first disk and an axially aft member coupleable to a second radially inward surface of the second disk, said seal ring configured to move in an axial direction between a first position in which the axially aft member remains a distance from said second radially inward surface such that a gap is defined therebetween and a second position in which said axially aft member contacts said second radially inward surface, wherein the gap provides access to said spacer from radially outward of said spacer.