Ring Compressor

[snowman]

Wayne,
You already sell hose clamps.

[Doug Zielke]

[MBAtarga]

Originally posted by john walker's workshop
stone knives, bearskins, hose clamps, 2x4s, hammers, axes, all the proper tools to do the job right.

So Doug added the corkscrew, but no one mentioned the duct tape missing from that list yet?

[rcwaldo]

ditto what Jim S said about the Snap-On (Blue Point?)ring compressor set. Really cheap and works well.

Regarding using hose clamps. Have you ever noticed the swarf created by hose clamps that get tightened and loosened many times? Its like a fine stainless dust which who knows where it ends up???

Chris

[snowman]

Chris,
You are right about the small ammount of tiny metalic fuzz. But that isn't a problem with a single rebuild. Anyone in the business of doing a lot of engines might have to consider this problem. IF you haven't tried it do so. the clamps really do work as goog as or even better than the blue Point,

[hcoles]

I'm looking at getting KD tool pn 1114 (pliers) and band 1122.
The setup looks good anyone use these or were they mentioned on other theads?

[ChrisBennet]

I do my piston to cylinder mating on the bench now. If you happen to do yours the same way I think you could use (borrow?) a "normal" ring compressor.
-Chris

[hcoles]

At this point I'm planning to put the rings on on the bench. JWE is inspecting the p's and c's right now. I may call in the troups for p's and c's install day and have someone bring a compressor they know works. Good idea. I know someone with a connection at KD so I have an inquiry in to see how to find out where to buy one retail without calling 10 stores. My rebuild is still going OK, much more work than anticipated.
-h

[snowman]

Have you tried a shoe string or tie wrap? They both work well. Esp tie wraps. You can pre position all of them , one per ring, shove in the piston and then cut them off. I do not like trying to insert the wrist pin into a piston partially inside of a cylinder and then inserting the circlip. To much to hard to do compared to clipping the tie wraps. And at $0.05 ea or less, hard to beat the cost.

[hcoles]

This seems like a good idea, I didn't like the idea of having to get the clip in with the piston hanging most of the way out of the cylinder....if that is what you are saying.

In my words: put tie wraps (one per ring) put the piston on the rod, insert w. pin, install circlips, then install cylinder and cut tie wraps as you go.... am I understanding this?

-Henry

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by hcoles
This seems like a good idea, I didn't like the idea of having to get the clip in with the piston hanging most of the way out of the cylinder....if that is what you are saying.

The "rings on the bench" method is easy and I find it's easier to keep rings from popping out of the ring compressor before they get into the cylinder. The (pre-964) Porsche wristpin clips are easy to put in. You can push them in with a finger and seat them with a little screwdriver. Sometimes you don't even need the screwdriver.

The "trick" if you will, is to make sure the wrist pin will slide into the piston without using force. (You should do this anyway whichever method you use.) You should be able to push them in with your finger or maybe use something as a pusher - no hammer needed.

Remove any burrs near the wristpin hole that you might have put there while removing the wristpin clips. I test things on the bench to make sure the wristpin slides into the piston easily.

Chill the wristpins or heat the piston. I put the indivually bagged and numbered wristpins in the freezer the night before. Don't tell the Mrs. but I keep them on a bag of frozen vegetables until I put them in.

-Chris

[hcoles]

Chris,
I may be a bit confused, which is common for me. I'm having the w. pins buffed and they will go in with just finger pressure. Considering this is the case... you say put the pistons in the cylinders on the bench using tie wraps (or was that a joke) and then put the assembly on the rod.
-Henry

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by hcoles
Chris,
I may be a bit confused, which is common for me. I'm having the w. pins buffed and they will go in with just finger pressure. Considering this is the case... you say put the pistons in the cylinders on the bench using tie wraps (or was that a joke) and then put the assembly on the rod.
-Henry

I'm the same way Henry (easily confused)!

The wrist pin fit varies but generally is a very close fit in the piston. On some, the wrist pin is actually slightly larger than the piston's wristpin hole (an "interference fit") so you need to temporarily shrink the pin by chilling it or expand the hole for the wristpin by heating the piston.

Someone else was recommending tie wraps. I use a "fancy" German ring compressor but most any ring compressor should work if you do it on the bench. Perhaps you can borrow one from one of your Chevy friends?

If you haven't put pistons in cylinders before I would recommend doing a few dry runs using the old rings. It will give you a chance to develop and refine a technique that works for you and if you break an old ring in the process there's no harm done. Dry runs are always quicker than waiting for replacements for broken rings.
-Chris

[911pcars]

Obviously, there's a few ways of installing the piston/cylinder assy.

On Pcars, the pin-to-piston-to-con rod fit is "free floating". That is, during normal operation, there is relative movement between all the parts (note the bearing bushing in the small con rod end). As applied to other vehicles, an interference fit is when the con rod small end (no bushing) is sligthly smaller than the piston pin OD, and the pin is forcefully pressed (hydraulic-type) through the con rod; thus the only relative movement is between the piston pin and the piston pin bore. The free-floating arrangement provides more bearing area but requires greater attention to clearances.

Whatever method you use to assemble the P/C, you might find it easier to install one piston circlip on each piston before installing the pin. If only the rods are installed first, then the pistons, then one side of the piston may not be accessible after installing the first couple of piston/rod assemblies.

Sherwood

[snowman]

Sherwood brought up one point I forgot about. If you use the bench assembly method and insert the wrist pins as the last step you need to plan ahead very carfully. The wrist pin can only be inserted from one direction easily or at all and it varies depending on which cylinder you are working with. When you are doing this planning insert the first circlip in the opposite end of the piston, this will act as a reminder of the direction. The sequence you plan on must also be followed as well otherwise you will also be removing and reinstalling several pistons until you get it right.

By the way, for the pros that haven't tried tiewraps, they work very well, maybe even better than some ring compressors.. As to which size tie wrap I never experimented to see if there is an optimum.