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Best way to compress piston rings

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
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Anonymous

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I am putting my new 1133 pistons in my 81 GS1100E. I am ready to put the cylinder block on. What is the best way to compress the rings to slide the cylinder on. I have built many car motors but I never had to put 4 pistons in at one time. I have a Snap On ring compressor but it will only work on one at a time. The crankcase is still in the frame also.

Thanks for any help.
 
You need a pair of ring compressors to do 1 & 4 and then 2 & 3 at the same time.
 
I think you could probably do without a ring compressor if you had a helper. The bottom of the barrels are usually tapered. All you need to do is be careful and start the rings in the tpaered area. Go slow.
 
Get some large nylon zip ties. There are some that are a couple feet long and almost 1/2" wide.
 
I have tried the large hose clamps and ended up breaking a ring. They are just not wide enough. Just a little nudge and they pop off the top ring. If I could find some large zip ties that are wide enough that could work. I will probably try to use two compressors and make sure I have someone there to help me.
 
Haven't done this but a mechanic buddy of mine said that having a couple of blocks of wood under the two pistons your trying to get in first helps out immensly. Make them tall enough that the rod is rotated out to the limit of it's travel. Holds the pistons in place and keeps the crank from rotating.
 
I use a special tool that I got from JC Whitney many years ago. It consists of three bands of spring steel with notches on the ends and it is compressed by a plyer tool. There is a newer version on their website that has more rings and a better, racheting tool. The SKU# is 12ZX7025W and it is $31.99 (what is the cost of one set of rings?) You can, however, do this without the special tool if you have three guys and a little patience. Put a light coat of oil on the rings and the cylinder walls. Start with cylinders two and three at top dead center. One person on each side can get four points of pressure on the rings, and the third person will tap down the cylinders with the heel of his hand (or very gently with a rubber hammer). Use your fingernails to make sure that the rings get inside the taper, and make sure that the cylinders go down evenly front and back and side to side. After 2 & 3 are seated, turn the crank to bring 1 & 4 up to the cylinders and repeat. Make sure that cam chain doesn't get bound up at the crank. Also, before you start, make sure that you have the gasket and all O-rings in place under the cylinders.
 
I've had very good luck using hose clamps to compress rings. I went out and found some that were 3/4 inch wide. I think I bought them at a large-truck (ie: semi) wrecking yard.
 
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