Piston Ring Compressor
 

I am rebuilding an '87 Carrera engine and am wondering what type of piston ring compressor to use. I like the ARP Piston Ring Compressor, P/N 901-9500 but want to make sure I am making the correct decision. Any comments?

Regards,
Bill

I used a Lisle 19000 - 2-1/8" to 5" Take APART Ring Compressor, which is economical and worked pretty good. I also inserted the pistons into the cylinders on the bench before mounting the assemblies onto the case.

Dave

I like a 1" X 4.25" hose clamp....

bought mine at Sears:)

i can specifically recommend against the $63.00 one Pelican sells (KD850). The bands are painted, so the rings catch on the paint. Also the spot welds where the plier loops attach to the bands are not ground smooth. Once you strip all the paint off and grind the spotwelds down, they work fine.

I got mine at HF and it worked like a champ.

Hazet

Worked like a charm. Thanks!!!

Another version of the hose clamp gizmo.......
 

Stainless band with a piece of the old cylinder with several slits to view the piston rings during installation. Have been using this gizmo for more than 20 years now and more than a dozen rebuilds.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1465480597.jpg

Tony

I use the kit with bands and pliers, We are pretty lucky having square top cylinders, try putting pistons in a VW VR6 sometime??

After reading Gordo's review, I used the one from Wiseco... half the price of the ARP version.
Worked great - was super easy to use.

Wiseco Ring Compressor Sleeves RCS09500 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing

1/2 inch works as well:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1465599278.jpghttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1465599381.jpg

These work very well. My favorite, but we don't have them for all configs. Where we don't have these yet we use the "band with pliers" style which also work well.

That said, I am not a fan of installing the piston on the rod (aircooled motors) and then sliding the cylinder over it. Works for some, but not my choice for assembly.

Cheers

That's the one I bought when I did my rebuild, ridiculously expensive but worked perfect. Will last me a lifetime.

Tony........I like that

regards,
al