how to insert piston into cylinder

[ol'George]

Your thinking is correct because if the "V" were inverted, the ring gap would not come together enough to allow them to be put in the cylinder.

[inspectorudy]

That might be why I couldn't get the first ring to compress! Man, I think you have got me to thinking about it from a new angle. I didn't actually think about which way the ring went on the piston and figured that the pin was just there to hold the ring in place. Thanks a lot. Merry Christmas to you and all of the guys on this forum.

[Merk]

by green 4 acres
from the picture it looks like you have light to medium scoring on the piston skirt, 2 cycles need a very smooth bore to work very long

I thought the same thing when I first look at the picture.

Odds are the motor is trash since it was ran without oil. It may run....odds are it will down on power if it runs.

[ol'George]

I have seen them die from no lube in fuel but @ times they take a licking and keep going.
if he didn't ruin the lower end it might work for what it was intended.
----@ this point he don't have much to loose.

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by inspectorudy

That might be why I couldn't get the first ring to compress! Man, I think you have got me to thinking about it from a new angle. I didn't actually think about which way the ring went on the piston and figured that the pin was just there to hold the ring in place. Thanks a lot. Merry Christmas to you and all of the guys on this forum.

Honestly,
When you have the rings positioned correctly, it is a piece of cake with your fingers or a couple of screwdrivers
practice with the old unbroken ring, putting it in the cylinder.
Hell,
it will run with only 1 top ring,---it will just be low on compression & power
BTDT

[thenrie]

The ring compressor I have is a thin piece of spring steel with a large hose clamp-looking thing to tighten it around the piston. Not homemade, it is a store-bought ring compressor. Bought it at Pep Boys or Autozone several years ago. Cost me about $10 and works just as well as a $60 one, just a little slower. Bought it to overhaul a Kawasaki KZ80 motorcycle engine. There's little reason, in my mind, to risk damaging a ring or scratching the piston or top of the cylinder trying to get them to slip in with screwdrivers when the proper tool is that inexpensive.

You simply slip the rings on the piston, position them properly, slip the compressor over the piston, tighten it up, then tap the piston into the cylinder with the butt end of a wood hammer handle. It's that simple. Not more than 2 minutes total. Just remember to put little pieces of rubber tube, like fuel line, on the rod bolts, so you don't gouge the piston walls or crank shaft journal as you slide the piston down into the cylinder.

One thing, though, in overhauling a mower engine. Many times the rings are made of harder material than the cylinder. So if you need new rings, in all likelihood the cylinder walls are so far out of shape that new rings probably won't seat well. If the rings don't seat, the engine will be low on compression (ergo power) and will smoke. If I were you I would take it to a machine shop and have them measure to see whether the cylinders need to be bored-out. Have them check the crank shaft journals at the same time. They may not even charge you to do this. You may find you need to have it bored and buy an oversized piston and have the crank and rod journals ground (or just buy a new crank) if you really want a lasting solution to your engine problem. Probably not as expensive as you may think and surely cheaper than a replacement engine.

[nikster]

Originally Posted by green 4 acres

why did you have to replace the old rings? - from the picture it looks like you have light to medium scoring on the piston skirt, 2 cycles need a very smooth bore to work very long , 80-100 stokes per second , but then pretty cheap to try You really need the short pliers style ring compresser to install easily with new rings ( $ 40 and up) --- that why I suggested a cycle shop

Many of the auto parts store's around my parts rent out many of the tools for just a deposit.

Advance, Auto Zone, etc..

Nik,

[inspectorudy]

I am in awe of mechanical things that I have put my ham hands on that work. I put the two rings on the little piston and put it all back together and after two pulls it fired up and ran like a new one. I see what I did wrong on the rings before and I believe I had them upside down when I couldn't get them into the cylinder. I put them in with the "V" up with each leg splitting the piston ring pin and immediately I could see that I could squeeze the rings with my fingers and work them into the head with no trouble. It just shows that even though you might take something off real carefully it can still go back on the wrong way. Anyway it smoked for about a minute and then settled down and ran like it has for over ten years.

[ol'George]

Originally Posted by inspectorudy

I am in awe of mechanical things that I have put my ham hands on that work. I put the two rings on the little piston and put it all back together and after two pulls it fired up and ran like a new one. I see what I did wrong on the rings before and I believe I had them upside down when I couldn't get them into the cylinder. I put them in with the "V" up with each leg splitting the piston ring pin and immediately I could see that I could squeeze the rings with my fingers and work them into the head with no trouble. It just shows that even though you might take something off real carefully it can still go back on the wrong way. Anyway it smoked for about a minute and then settled down and ran like it has for over ten years.

I'm glad it worked out for you, thanks for posting back it is our "payment" for advice given,
and you have a feeling of accomplishment that is priceless.
Merry Christmas