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[Kevin Wood]

Biggest problem with doing it in-situ is cleanliness IMHO. Honing the bores will create debris. If the engine is totally stripped the block can be washed afterwards. If it's in-situ with the crank in place you need to be careful not to get debris on the crank journals and oilways as this will bu66er the bearings. Cover them with something while honing and clean up thoroughly afterwards.

It might not come to that though.

Kevin

[Martin_1962]

Biggest problem with doing it in-situ is cleanliness IMHO. Honing the bores will create debris. If the engine is totally stripped the block can be washed afterwards. If it's in-situ with the crank in place you need to be careful not to get debris on the crank journals and oilways as this will bu66er the bearings. Cover them with something while honing and clean up thoroughly afterwards.

It might not come to that though.

Kevin

If a bit glazed wet & dry will do

[JamesV6CDX]

Just been looking on youtube -

Quite confident I can do this without a problem - doesn't look too difficult if care is taken.

As Kev says, I'll check stem seals first - but if all appears OK in the head, I'm not re-fitting the head until it's had a new set of rings.

Why is it that if piston rings really are that simple, people make such a fuss and replace what is otherwise a good engine?

[Entwood]

I think its convenience and cost James .. old days we used to re-ring/rebuild engines all the time .. I well remember changing some main bearings on a ford consol with 2 wheels on the verge and the sump dropped without draining the oil !!  It was what you did !!

Labour charges at upwards of £75 an hour would make a full engine out/strip/rebuild/refit so expensive that most garages say stick a new engine in its cheaper and you get a warranty. Add to that the fact that many garages do NOT employ mechanics/engineers  but partially trained spanner monkeys who haven't got a clue beyond component replacement as told by the idiots lantern in the corner .. and it knows nothing either

Engines are built on stands and many jobs are not designed to be done in-situ, our own spark plugs/ HBV being examples of how non-mechanic-friendly the modern design is .... and when you have to dismantle 1/2 a car to change a light bulb ... as some citroens now do ... 

Lastly, manufacturers are deliberately using more and more "special tools" to do simple jobs .. the cost of these, and the training to use them, presents the old-fashioned garage with a major problem ... is it worth buying tools you may only ever use once You can't charge the cost to the customer...

The days when a box of BSF/Whitworth spanners would do 99% of all jobs are, unfortunately, long gone ..

[Kevin Wood]

Added to that, piston rings really should outlast the rest of the car in a standard production engine these days, so it's a relatively rare problem. Once it does occur, the mileage is NCC-1701 territory so the engine is likely to need a full overhaul rather then just a quick hone and some new rings, so it's engine out, machining work, cleaning full set of bearings, seals, etc. Possibly piston replacement too. Not worth the bother when you look at the cost of a recond engine or 1/2 engine. Or, indeed, the likely value of the car by that time.

Kevin