Has anybody in Portland ever re-ringed an e30 piston?

[KenC]

I'm going to re-ring all four of my M42 pistons after one set of rings was toasted. Has anybody in Portland ever done this before? It doesn't seem like rocket-science, but it would be nice to have a veteran guide.

Thanks
Ke

[twistednut]

I would like to know myself. I'll be doing the same thing sometime this week. One tip I did get was to take one of the old rings and break it to where you have a sharp end and clean all the piston grooves with it.

[3bvert]

ken
curious, rebuilding hole block or just slapping in rings
how are the rod bearings looking
you must have lucked out and not scored #4 ( since #4 was your prob cyl)

if I was near, would love to come help

pull old rings, do as suggested, break one and use it for a scraper, scrape off the crap,
the soak in solvent
rescrape, blow off with carb cleaner or solvent, dry the groves out, if you want use pipe cleaners, but often not needed

go slow installing new rings ( what brand are you using)
depending on orientation, some rings are beveled toward top
do not line up openings with each other in rings

a ring compressor is not expensive if you dont have and cant borrow
hone cylinders
go slow , be patient, dont install dry

enjoy the fruits of yoru labor

[KenC]

Well I tore the whole block apart and the crank, main bearings, and rod bearings look immaculate. I'm planning on taking the block in to be honed and hot-tanked this week.

I'm going with the OEM Goetze rings. Thanks for the old ring scraper tip. I plan on soaking them in kerosene for a while to dissolve the carbon deposits, too.

I'll probably just have the machine shop install the rings and rotating assembly while it's there.

[3bvert]

dont forget to have new freeze plugs put in
some machine shops do this routenily as they punch em out before hot tanking, but Ive seen cheap shops leave em in
also might be worth checking what they would charge to clean the pistons, since you might have the rings put on by them they might cut you a deal
and they have all the nasty chemicals and tools

[KenC]

Thanks for the heads-up on the freeze plugs.