for some reason i am really struggling to get my pistons into the block
the pistons and rings were the ones that came out, but i can not get the oil control rings (on the piston) into the block
i am using the proper clamp and loads of oil, but to no avail

wot am i doing wrong ??

ive done this a few time b4 but dont seem to have had this problem

has a ridge formed at the top of the piston bores ? did you by chance remove them from below and are now fitting from above ?

no ridge that i am aware of and bores have been lightley honed

its a xflow and pistons will not go down wards

There is a bit of a knack to this. The important thing is not to try and force them in.

The compressor should be as tight as you can get it without locking on to the piston.

the piston should go in absolutely square otherwise the oil control ring pops out of the side and it won't go in

patience pays in this case!

HTH

Mark

Leave a bit of the piston skirt showing out the bottom of the clamp, make sure the ring grooves are well cleaned out and the ring slots are correct clearance, you may need to file the ring ends to get this then belt the top of the piston down with the hammer shaft to shock it in. Good luck.

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Originally posted by Stu16v

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Originally posted by Peteff
Leave a bit of the piston skirt showing out the bottom of the clamp, make sure the ring grooves are well cleaned out and the ring slots are correct clearance, you may need to file the ring ends to get this then belt the top of the piston down with the hammer shaft to shock it in. Good luck.

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But before belting the top of the piston, run round the ring clamp top with a hammer to 'square' it up onto the top of the block. There should be a small, but discernable chamfer or 'lead-in' on the bore top too. You shouldn't need to attack the rings with a file if they have come out of that engine...

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David Jenkins - 6/4/05 at 07:46 PM

Have you tried sizing the rings in the bores? It's not entirely unknown for rings to be over-size, ot have too small a gap.

Put the ring in its bore, square it up by pushing the piston crown down onto it, and measure the gap with feeler gauges. Your Haynes manual should tell you what the gap should be. (I'm probably telling you something you know already - if that's the case, sorry! )

David

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Stu16v - 6/4/05 at 07:59 PM

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for some reason i am really struggling to get my pistons into the block
the pistons and rings were the ones that came out

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David Jenkins - 6/4/05 at 08:45 PM

Ahh... that'll teach me to read the posts properly!

In which case, I can only think of 2 things - ring compressor and muck in the ring grooves.

Steve - what sort of ring compressor are you using? Mine is a spiral of spring steel with a ratchet mechanism on the side. Worked really well for me...

Can you squeeze the rings flush with the surface of the piston all the way round? There's no muck floating around in the groove that would hold it out a few tho?

cheers,
David

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steve m - 7/4/05 at 05:51 PM

thanks for all the replies
yes the rings gaps are clean, and the whole lot came out of the engine
spring compressor is the blue springy one with ratchet (used by me several times)

plan is to leave it a few days and surprise the F$"£"r into submission !!

steve

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Surrey Dave - 7/4/05 at 06:16 PM

Would a standard unrebored engine have a slight lead in taper at the top of the bore to help guide the rings in?

You could gently take the sharp corner off the top of the bore.

I've never owned a ring compressor have always managed to tap the piston and push the rings in with a small screwdriver......................what a bodger!!

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steve m - 7/4/05 at 06:28 PM

my next attempt will be to smack the little f****rs in with a mallet

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bob - 7/4/05 at 06:53 PM

Hey steve

The funny thing is you dont seem to have a problem getting them out,even with the head and mains still on LOL

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