Tools & Supplies
The following are recommended in addition to the standard tools that
you may have:
Piston
ring expander
Piston ring compressor
Ridge reamer
Brush hone (Ball & stick)
Rigid hone
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Detergent
Feeler gauges
Plastigage
Torque plate
Calipers
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Disassembly:
Disassemble the engine carefully - watch for signs of
part failure, such as broken rings, fouled plugs, oil on top of the piston,
water in the oil, oil in the water, seized parts, gnarled or scratched
bearings, or unusual wear patterns indicating damage or misalignment.
Remove the ridge from the top of the cylinders with a
ridge reamer before removing the pistons from the cylinders so as not
to damage the piston or ring lands. Clean all the pistons thoroughly.
Remove carbon from the ring groove and oil drain holes.
Check the ring groove sizes and depths with a set of calipers. Make sure
you have the correct set of rings for this application. Deves Piston Rings
are manufactured for OEM pistons or replacement pistons designed to original
specifications. Other applications are noted in the catalog. It is the
installers responsibility to check and determine that the size is correct
for the application.
Check for wear in the top grooves of the pistons by installing
a top compression ring, with the face of the ring flush with the ring
land and inserting a feeler gauge between the upper side of the ring and
the groove. If the clearance is greater than .006" the groove has excessive
wear and the piston should be replaced or possibly regrooved. Deves has
more than 30,000 different ring sizes in stock, so a custom set for a
regrooved piston is an alternative to buying new pistons. Call us to discuss.
Cylinder Preparation:
Upon disassembly and inspection of the cylinders, it
is possible that a cylinder will measure out-of-round. If a torque plate
or head is torqued into place, the distortion should be corrected. Check
this by turning the engine upside down, and measuring the top of the cylinder
from underneath (head bolt distortion is usually at the top of the cylinder).
If the block needs boring, have the block bored with a torque plate in
place. This allows for head bolt torque distortion that could affect the
cylinder shape. The torque plate should be installed with the headgasket,
and the torque plate bolt's thread lengths should be the same as the head
bolts.
For the final finish, hone the cylinders with the correct
brush hone using honing oil, which will help cool the brush hone and cleanly
cut the surface. Do not hone the cylinders in a solvent tank using parts
solvent - while not visible to the naked eye. The hone will tear, fold,
and rip the bore finish. Avoid synthetic oils; they won't allow the rings
to seat.
After honing, wash the cylinders and block with hot,
soapy water. To clean the cylinders correctly: use a stiff round brush,
oil them to prevent rust, and use only clean oil and a lint-free rag.
Avoid synthetic oils; they won't allow the rings to seal. After engine
break-in, however, synthetic oils are fine to use. Never use cylinder
coatings that are slippery. Note: For aluminum block engines, be sure
to follow all factory recommendations and specifications for cylinder
preparation.
Assembly:
Before assembly begins, make sure that everything that
needs replacing is replaced, and is replaced with the correct component.
Make sure that the piston to wall clearance is within factory tolerances.
If the clearance is too great, the cylinders will have to be rebored,
honed and oversize pistons installed, or possibly sleeved back to standard.
This is also true if the cylinders have too much taper or are out-of-round.
Check the end gap of the compression rings by inserting
them, one at a time, into the cylinder and squaring them to the cylinder
wall by turning a piston upside down and pushing the ring down into the
cylinder approximately one inch (with the top of the piston). Measure
the end gap with a feeler gauge. Check this against the end gap spec chart
at the back of the Deves Piston Ring catalog or the instruction sheet
included in each set of rings. If the gaps are too small, the ends of
the rings need to be filed. If the gaps are too large, you may have the
wrong size rings, or your cylinder may be worn to the point that it needs
to be bored and oversize pistons installed. But, if the cylinder is still
within factory tolerances, it is possible to install oversize rings (.010"/
.025mm larger than the bore) and file the ends to the correct gap. Please
call to check availability for your particular application.
Check each compression ring in the cylinder in which
it will be installed. Keep the rings and cylinders consistent as there
might be some variance in the individual cylinders and the rings are gapped
per the cylinders. There is no need to check the end gaps on the Deves
four-piece oil ring. The rails are made for specific bore sizes and are
pre-gapped at the factory. Just make sure you have the correct set.
A piston ring expander should be used when installing
the compression rings on the piston. Expand the ring just far enough to
fit the piston; compression rings are flexible to a point, but beyond
that point, distortion occurs and the rings may not function properly.
lnstalling the piston/ring assembly in the block requires
a piston ring compressor (A ratchet type compressor is recommended for
Deves rings). Tap the piston lightly while holding the ring compressor
firmly against the top of the block. Don't rush, unseen damage often occurs
at this step. It is not uncommon for an oil ring rail to get caught on
the edge of the cylinder when the piston is installed. Forcing it in damages
the rail and requires a replacement. Using a compressor lessens the risk
of damaging the block or the rings.
These tips have been gathered over the decades that
Deves has been producing rings. Any additional tips or comments are welcome,
so please feel free to call us or drop us a line.
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