last year i tore down my motor and rebuilt everything except for the crank. i noticed that there was a little more play in the rod than what i thought should have been there. there wasnt any up and down play but side to side was about 1/4" at the upper end of the rod. my question is would this cause a skirt to break off the piston? the piston was only on its first season and not much run time on it. i wondering if there is anything else that could have caused this

 

A little side to side play NORMAL on rod,piston skirt damage usually from worn piston,too much clearance to begin with, just sticking in a stock piston in a cylinder that needs to be bored usual mistakes a lot of people make on 2-strokes!

 

well i have thought about that because there is a little blow by on the piston. doesnt go down too far maybe 3/8" past the rings.

 

too much piston slop by the sounds of it for sure.