I'm having trouble getting the piston in the cylinder, any suggestions?

[Dwahl]

As it says in the title, I'm struggling getting the oil ring past the chamfered edge on the cylinder. Any tools or tips would be great.

Dan

 

[AndrewS]

How about a piston ring compressor tool?

 

[HuskyDude]

Ya or I've even used a large gear clamp in a pitch.
If nothing else a couple sets of hands might even work.

 

[Rusty Nuts]

try a bigger hammer and put your tounge out the other side

 

[Dwahl]

Because of the chamfer, the rings disappear with out be fully depressed with no way to depress them. The gear clamp didn't work, that was my first idea. I'll have to just keep trying. A standard ring tool wont work.

 

[AndrewS]

Incidentally, the service manual just says to lube the piston and cylinder and slide it on.

I've always found the chamfering helps get the rings compressed and into the cylinder, although I haven't had to do it on my Husky, and hopefully won't need to for a while.

 

[Dwahl]

I'm using an athena cylinder and the chamfer is a bit rough, pretty sure thats the whole problem, not sure if i should sand it or what. It appears they didnt clean it after the cast

 

[DH247]

Really? Wow, that's def below par for the Athena. Put one of those on my old KX450 and it was awesome. If you are going to sand the cylinder a bit just be sure to avoid nicking the cylinder wall higher up. Getting a cylinder re-nickasilled can be $$$....

Do you have a dremel to create a small chamfer? It would help to minimize any potential damage further up the cyclinder wall...

 

[skid]

careful ... I had a real time trying to get a piston and rings in a gas gas 300. It was first ever top end. I learned a few things ..

1) use your head .. if something is made to go up and down inside a cyclinder something like 7or 8 thousand times a minute ... it should not need to be forced into place ..."PUT DOWN THE HAMMER"!!

2) I'm a bit foggy on this one but the rings and piston need to come from the same mfg'er something like that. the first time around I evidently had a set of rings from one mfgr and a piston from another not sure how that all came to be. I think I decided the current piston was fine and would only put in a set of fresh rings

3) sometimes even when they are from the same mfgr they still won't work. On my second attempt with matching parts it still would not go in. dealer/supplier thought I was a screw ball but ask me to send the stuff back. They could not get it to go in either. Even though everything measured correctly .. it did not work. They chalked it up to a one off mfg defect in either the ring or piston. I eventually got a set of piston and rings that work .. they slid right in .. as everey piston and ring has that I have done since.

If it isn't going in by hand I'd be carefull!!!

 

[Fast1]

want a challenge, put a triple jug back on the pistons of a 1300 cc jet ski while the engine block is still in the hull all by yourself..

 

[HuskyDude]

sometimes even when they are from the same mfgr they still won't work. On my second attempt with matching parts it still would not go in. dealer/supplier thought I was a screw ball but ask me to send the stuff back. They could not get it to go in either. Even though everything measured correctly .. it did not work. They chalked it up to a one off mfg defect in either the ring or piston. I eventually got a set of piston and rings that work .. they slid right in .. as every piston and ring has that I have done since.

That said...Did you check the ring end gap before install attempted?
Putting just the ring into the cylinder and measuring the 'ring end gap to ensure it was correct.

 

[skid]

yes .. Yes I always check ring end gap... trust me the dudes I sent it back to knew what they were doing .. they were as baffled as I was.

 

[Dwahl]

I got it in, just had to put it though the top. Alot more effort but it seems to have worked. The problem was the lip on the cylinder plating held up the oil ring.