welcome back 270, I was wondering what happened to ya!!

I love the "rolling in the poop creek" caption, BTW!

 

Do I need a piston ring compression tool to install the piston into the cylinder?

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: gforce34

Do I need a piston ring compression tool to install the piston into the cylinder?</end quote></div>

no, the cylinder has a chamfer on the bottom. Put the piston in first and then put the jug n piston on the rod. Its a lot easier that way.

Be sure to check the ring end gap. .004 for each inch of bore. Then file all the sharp edges down at the end gap so the ring cant get caught in the piston when its trying to expand.

 

Ok thanks.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

CRAP!! I didnt check the ring gap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img] ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Not only the gap, but you should really polish the piston top too. It should be a mirror shine. Wiseco sux because they collect too much crabon. They look like they've been mudded and combed out for tile. I spent a few hrs last night shining the lakota piston up. And I'm wondering if I should polish the skirts too.

 

Oh, the reason I say to polish it,,, if you remember me bitchin a month ago or so after my mountain trip, I had a cake of carbon on top of my piston and one piece was white and sticking up like a mountain peak. I know that thing was glowing red causing detonation. Valves and head should be a mirror shine too, but that's super hard to accomplish.

 

Even a brand new piston?

I guess me not gapping the rings would explain why it was so hard to slide the piston into the sleeve. Can't wait to see the look on my wife's face when I pull the engine out AGAIN and pull it apart AGAIN! I should be thanking you though, cause I planned on trying to start it by this weekend.. What kind of damage would I have done?

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: PoolGod230

Even a brand new piston?



I guess me not gapping the rings would explain why it was so hard to slide the piston into the sleeve. Can't wait to see the look on my wife's face when I pull the engine out AGAIN and pull it apart AGAIN! I should be thanking you though, cause I planned on trying to start it by this weekend.. What kind of damage would I have done?</end quote></div>

Even a brand new piston! They leave cut marks from the lathe. Looks like a floor just mudded for tile and combed out with those big ridges so the tile will stick to the floor. Carbon sticks to the piston just as good as the tile does to the floor. At least take those ridges off, even if you can't get it mirror shiney. Mirror shiney will reflect the heat back up and not heat the piston so much.

If you didn't gap the rings, you "might" have been ok. I've only had to gap 1 out of 3 so far.... but the one I had to gap was the 230, lol. The other 2 were factory pistons for kawasaki and yamaha. Maybe it would be a good thing to check out! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

If the end gap closes, the ring will continue to expand until it welds itself to the cylinder. All kinds of things can happen from there. Always check the gap and always file the piston-side corners off so theres no way the rings can get hung up when they expand (no need to file the corners on the cylinder side - the rings can dig into the aluminum, not the steel sleeve). And the more heat you reflect back up, the bigger the gap needs to be. Hypereutectic (high silicon content) pistons need a huge gap!

I'm trying to get a pic up, but photobucket is down for repairs right now.

 

You are a wealth of info Randy, Thank you!