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Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: JamesV6CDX on 25 July 2009, 21:45:10

Title: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 25 July 2009, 21:45:10
Firstly thanks to Ziad for the link :y

This weekend, I am going to be changing my piston rings in the Ashtray. It's using more oil than goodness knows what.

 Got a garage to work in - going to do it over 2 days.

Anyone not too far away (preferably with experience of doing rings!) fancing coming down?
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Ziad on 25 July 2009, 21:52:45
Quote
Firstly thanks to Ziad for the link :y

This weekend, I am going to be changing my piston rings in the Ashtray. It's using more oil than goodness knows what.

 Got a garage to work in - going to do it over 2 days.

Anyone not too far away (preferably with experience of doing rings!) fancing coming down?

Most welcome mate. Happy to know that u gonna sort out the oil guzzler and happy i have been of help :y
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: tunnie on 25 July 2009, 21:56:10
get a proper car that puts power to the rear wheels  :y
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Elite Pete on 25 July 2009, 22:10:39
Quote
Firstly thanks to Ziad for the link :y

This weekend, I am going to be changing my piston rings in the Ashtray. It's using more oil than goodness knows what.

 Got a garage to work in - going to do it over 2 days.

Anyone not too far away (preferably with experience of doing rings!) fancing coming down?
That'll be Daz then, but not the rings your on about ;D ;D
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Lee A on 25 July 2009, 22:34:03
Good luck with it mate, im sure you will sort it  :y
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Bent valve on 25 July 2009, 23:11:58
Count the pistons before you put the head back on :y
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 26 July 2009, 00:14:08
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Count the pistons before you put the head back on :y

eh???  ::)
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Omegatoy on 26 July 2009, 19:38:23
piston rings are easy once you have all the correct tools James,
i.e pistonring compressor for replacing them in the bores after you have replaced,
however the kicker is its not just a case of removing old ones and replacing them with new!!
when ou strip the old ones out you will probably find they are gummed up with carbon and hence undable to move hence you oil burning problem as the rings are stuck in the pistons!!(thats a guess by the way it may not be the fault)
so whe the pistons are out very carefully remove the original rings from each piston, then very carefully BREAK ONE!!!! when this is done you have a perfect sized scraper to clean out the ring lands on the pistons, use the sharp edge to dig out the carbon and get the pistons as clean as possible i,e all carbon deposits removed so the new rings can move freely round the pistons dont attempt to fit the new rings till you can use the reverse side oif your scraper to check if it slides in and out of the lands freely!! dont forget to glaze bust the bores with a suitable glaze buster clean them out then lightly oil them before fitting pistons back in!!
hope this helps its the shortest version i could do you!! :y
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Kevin Wood on 26 July 2009, 21:01:51
... and once it's back together you need to be careful how you run it in to ensure the rings bed in properly.

Don't let it idle for ages, take it straight out on the road once it's warmed up.

IMHO, don't run it in gently. Give it plenty of brief bursts of full throttle acceleration but limit revs to, say, 5k, and allow periods of overrun in-between to draw some oil up into the rigs and cool them. Keep the driving dynamic. No motorway cruising. The first 50 miles or so will make all the difference.

Give it some cheap mineral oil to start with too, and drop it after 500 / 1000 miles.

Kevin
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Dishevelled Den on 26 July 2009, 21:27:02
Quote
Quote
Firstly thanks to Ziad for the link :y

This weekend, I am going to be changing my piston rings in the Ashtray. It's using more oil than goodness knows what.

 Got a garage to work in - going to do it over 2 days.

Anyone not too far away (preferably with experience of doing rings!) fancing coming down?
That'll be Daz then, but not the rings your on about ;D ;D


Splendid EP  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: hotel21 on 27 July 2009, 13:00:47
Been a while since I've replaced rings on an engine...  Is there stilla need to check/set/adjust ring end gap in the bores or is it accepted that they will fit properly first time?     :-/

Be a shame to rebuilt the engine then the rings break first time the engine is run as they are too long for the least worn bit of the bore....   :-[
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Kevin Wood on 27 July 2009, 13:09:30
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Been a while since I've replaced rings on an engine...  Is there stilla need to check/set/adjust ring end gap in the bores or is it accepted that they will fit properly first time?     :-/

Be a shame to rebuilt the engine then the rings break first time the engine is run as they are too long for the least worn bit of the bore....   :-[

Good point. It needs to be checked IMHO.

Kevin
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Kevin Wood on 27 July 2009, 13:13:22
Actually, might be worth checking the ring clearance in the piston groove too. I've junked a set of pistons from a relatively youthful engine (100k) due to that before now, and the workshop I used said it's not uncommon for them to wear.

Kevin
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: hotel21 on 27 July 2009, 13:16:30
Last time I did a ring job without reboring the block I got a set with a stepped top/compression ring so that it did not interfere with the edge of the unworn top portion of the bore.  Best to avoid hitting the hard steely bits with the brittle rings...
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Kevin Wood on 27 July 2009, 13:22:13
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Last time I did a ring job without reboring the block I got a set with a stepped top/compression ring so that it did not interfere with the edge of the unworn top portion of the bore.  Best to avoid hitting the hard steely bits with the brittle rings...

I think you can get a tool to ream the edge down as well. Never done it though. Needs an experienced eye to decide where on the scale of "slap some new rings in and hope for the best"  to "full rebuild" we are. :-/

Kevin
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: hotel21 on 27 July 2009, 13:25:01
Quote
Quote
Last time I did a ring job without reboring the block I got a set with a stepped top/compression ring so that it did not interfere with the edge of the unworn top portion of the bore.  Best to avoid hitting the hard steely bits with the brittle rings...

I think you can get a tool to ream the edge down as well. Never done it though. Needs an experienced eye to decide where on the scale of "slap some new rings in and hope for the best"  to "full rebuild" we are. :-/

Kevin

Sounds like the former option was probably taken!  No doubt we will find out in due course....   Best of luck james...  8-) 
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 27 July 2009, 13:43:27
Cheers Broocie

I'm thinking of taking the easy way out - take the engine out, and give the block to the machine shop  ::)

The guy there is very good, he will welcome me in and talk me through the lot, probably a worthwhile learning experience, while getting a full rebuild at the same time  :y
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Kevin Wood on 27 July 2009, 14:05:34
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Cheers Broocie

I'm thinking of taking the easy way out - take the engine out, and give the block to the machine shop  ::)

The guy there is very good, he will welcome me in and talk me through the lot, probably a worthwhile learning experience, while getting a full rebuild at the same time  :y

Sounds like a good plan. You have the fun part of doing the rebuild but knowing that you've made the right decisions, assuming the guy knows his onions. 

Kevin
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 27 July 2009, 14:12:44
Hmmmm.....the bores are easy to check and Vx engines rarely suffer bore wear.

The piston ring grooves are also easy to check plus fit the rings into the bores first to check the gap size (I buy over size rings and grind them back).

A light hone can be done with wet and dry.

The key thing to do is inspect the bores.
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: sassanach on 27 July 2009, 20:44:14
save yourself a lot of hassle and get another engine from a scrappy :y
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Entwood on 27 July 2009, 20:48:58
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save yourself a lot of hassle and get another engine from a scrappy :y


He likes playing to much to do that ... and we wouldn't be able to run a "book" on what bits would be left over ......

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Brick Tamland on 27 July 2009, 20:51:44
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save yourself a lot of hassle and get another engine from a scrappy :y

Definatly the easiest and most sensible option :y But where's the fun in that :D
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: sassanach on 27 July 2009, 20:56:43
and probably the cheapest too :y
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 27 July 2009, 21:15:33
Quote
Quote
save yourself a lot of hassle and get another engine from a scrappy :y


He likes playing to much to do that ... and we wouldn't be able to run a "book" on what bits would be left over ......

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

All this over a bloody follower  >:( ;D
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Entwood on 27 July 2009, 21:18:53
As they say ....

you sh*g one sheep ......   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 27 July 2009, 21:23:20
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As they say ....

you sh*g one sheep ......   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

;D
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 28 July 2009, 10:40:19
Trouble with a second hadn scrapper engine is that it is an unknown, you at least know the issues with the lump you have and thats worth a lot
Title: Re: Piston ring job, this weekend
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 28 July 2009, 11:02:46
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Trouble with a second hadn scrapper engine is that it is an unknown, you at least know the issues with the lump you have and thats worth a lot

how you say "better the devil you know"..

agreed..