piston rings problem

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:55 pm

ok so i bent a connecting rod when i sucked up water into the motor so now i am changing the piston rings since they come in packs of 4 so my problem is i cant get all the rings in but the #1 ring it compresses but wont go into the cylinder all the way this is my problem on piston 1 2 and 3 i got 4 to go in no problem so i dont under stand why the others wont go any tips

thanks

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:35 pm

stdlystdmufn · Post by **stdlystdmufn** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:03 pm

are you using a ring compressor?

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 9:10 pm

X2! You need a ring compressor, or you may end up breaking the rings.

Did you put the rings in the cylinder first, pushing them in a little with the piston upside down to square them, and check the ring gap?

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 6:01 pm

ring gap is good yes i put them in the cylinder first and yes im using a ring compressor the ring will start to go in the cylinder but them stops with the top of the ring sitting flush with the deck i have tried putting the old #1 ring back on and it still wont go back in the cylinder i dont know if its bc the block was a little cold or wut but when putting the piston in using the compressor as it leaves the compressor and enters the block i hear a tink sound i guess its the ring popping out against the cylinder walls now wut is strange is i got #4 in with out a compressor and it was in in 5 mins but the rest wont go ???? i was thinking of using a heat gun to warm the block up and then put the pistons in the freezer would this work?? also something puzzles me the new rings inner diameter is smaller then the old ones i understand the old ones are worn would this a problem. ill try to get pics posted asap

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 10:06 pm

The inner diameter should not wear. Only the outer diameter, and to some small extent, where they rest in the ring lands. Freezing the pistons won't help, they already fit in the bore.

Maybe the compressor is not squeezing evenly, and letting the rings expand a little before they enter the bore.

Maybe give the grooves in the pistons a good look to be sure they are not holding the rings out somehow.

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:58 pm

should the ring go all the way in the piston bc they dont the # 1 ring sits about a 32th of an inch out of the piston i checked the old rings and seems to be the same i tryied checking the diameter of the bore dont know if i have the right tool but the tool i had i got 3 different readings from the 3 bores using a digital caliper wut is the bore suppose to be on a 02 dodge neon 2.0 block? im hoping i didnt warp the block wut damage could sucking water in the motor do besides a bent connecting rod could the sudden cool down warp the block ? the piston should spin 180 degrees in the bore without any problems right? mine dont. now im trying to do all this work in temps of about 60 F could this be a problem?

stdlystdmufn · Post by **stdlystdmufn** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 7:59 pm

are you using the old pistons? if so you will need to clean the ring grooves. the ring should feel loose in the piston and it will go all the way into the piston when the ring compressor is in. to clean the pistons you will need a ring land cleaner some people call them piston ring groove cleaners. a parts store will probably have one to use for rent.

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:54 pm

yes i have cleaned the groves im thinking the part is wrong i am useing 3 factory pistons and 1 new one and the rings dont go all the way in they stick out about 32nd of an inch i need to look up the part number i guess

ok so after looking back at pistons and rings this is what i found ok i took the the number one ring off and took one of the old rings and put it on and the piston went in so i looked at the old rings to put back on the rest and come to find out the 1 and 2 ring both have dots on them so this made me worry so after messing around i realized one ring sat flush with the piston and the other stuck out 32nd of an inch so i guessed the flush one had to be #1 ring so i checked the other ring in the #2 slot and it sat flush so then i got to looking at the new rings and wounder may be they had stamped them wrong so i switched the 1 and 2 ring around and sure enough they sat flush when pushed in the only bad part the original 2 ring doesn't have a dot to show with side up and i tried looking at it and couldn't see the slight angle cut so i hope i put them in right lol what is the chance they was stamped wrong ? so then it got me to thinking and some had told me the #1 ring it thicker then #2 so i checked the ring in #1 slot now is 1.18 mm thick and the ring in slot #2 is 1.20 mm does this matter its the only way i can get it to work. what is the worst that would happen if its wrong ?

gtxtreme19 · Post by **gtxtreme19** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:28 pm

did you use a ringland file? just cleaning the grooves may not get all the crud out of there

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 7:21 pm

yes i cleaned the groves i could see the piston in the back of the grove but even with the new pistons the ring wouldnt go all the way in but when i switch the #1 and #2 rings around they went in flush with the piston so im thinking the rings was marked wrong or cut wrong from the factory. but wut piston ring should be thicker #1 or #2 the way i have it now #1 is 1.80 mm and #2 is 1.20 thick

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:12 pm

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:23 pm

Post by **occasional demons** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:31 pm

Is there a manufacturer name available? Any way to call Technical Assistance?

Dots always go up. You may need to get a magnifying glass to see which way the chamfer is facing.

evilneon02 · Post by **evilneon02** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:12 pm

they was mopar from the dealer and to late now i put the rings where they fit and installed them if its wrong i guess ill burn the rings up and be doing this again lets hope not