The first (only) time I ever messed with piston rings I was taking apart a junk motor just to see what all was in there and when I tried to take the piston rings off I didn't know they were brittle and I snapped them in half. After that I always assumed you had to have a special tool to mess with them, glad to see you can do it this way, as long as you're careful, in case I ever need to.
Can’t get enough of your videos Don. They’re all good quality. I’ll be starting up my own small engine repair shop at this rate 😂😂😂. Kind Regards from Perth Western Australia 🦘🇦🇺
Hi Dony. Thank you for all your videos you’re done over the years. There must have been so much time and effort gone into producing them. I enjoy watching them and have learnt a lot. You speak very clearly and explain things well. I’m sure there would be many others who patriciate your videos too. Kind Regards from Perth W.A. 🇦🇺🦘
Great video. In case you haven't seen it done, a worm gear type standard hose clamp works perfectly as a ring compressor. It covers all the rings completely and with gentle tapping around and tightening, the serve beautifully. I have even used them on VW engines. Great site. Keep up the great work. Subscribed as of now.
I've broken more rings using piston ring pliers than just using my thumbs to install them , you don't have any "feel" as to how far you are expanding them with the pliers . Also to make it a little easier install the piston on the rod and clamp the rod in a vise with soft jaws ( if you can ) so you don't have to hold the piston while trying to instal the rings . Thanks for another informative video Dony !
From my understanding when you put the oiler ring in you need to put the little spacer in first and then wrap the two rings around it because they sit on a Ledge on that spacer if you look at it closely you can see a little ledge on the back side of it on each little bump
Great vid donny !! I dont even own a piston ring installer tool.. I have always used my hands to fit them to the piston.. Ring tools can bust rings easy !!
In these winter months, I would add that it would help somewhat to put some heat (hair dryer) before before handling of the rings to make them more pliable and less prone to breaking.
Thanks for posting, I'm thinking of just refreshing a 2.0 pinto eng by just doing rings and Bearings on my own on the cheap, don't want to get shops involved at all. looking over videos of what's needed, I've always been a car guy wrenching on everything I have, I've just never rebuilt an eng on my own.
An experienced motor technician showed how to do it without any tools and with no problems. So, if you don't have the experience, then you definitely should use the piston ring compressor.
If you are well experienced small engine technician, then you could get away without using any special tools for installing piston rings but, you have to be very careful with plenty of experience.
I always wondered how much walking of the gap in each ring happens after installation. The rings spin fairly easily in their track, so it makes sense that some movement will occur. But I guess it would be unlikely for them all to walk into alignment together. Presumably after a few thousand revolutions they find a comfortable spot and then just stay put.
the paint reference is partly to orient the rings right side up- there is a slight bevel on the inside up edge of the ring which on the firing stroke allows combustion gas to get in behind the ring & expand it and seal to the cylinder wall. Just on the top one??
i'm sorry but this method is ok for the oil rings only!! the compression rings should never be twisted in any way or form because the will almost always be not perfectly circular after.. This can cause uneven ring wear i'm sure this matters less in a small engine but in a car this is a no no!! nice video tho good job and good work :)
I have a Honda HR214 mower with a gxv120 engine that smokes and burns oil. I am planning to replace the rings soon. Can I do this job without removing the engine from the mower? I am going to lift mower on to a table.
What if you have an older engine with cast iron rings that you cant spiral in place without breaking them? Mine are about twice as thick as in the video and the first ring grove is an entire inch away from the piston crown. Old tractors are fun and easy to fix until your only auto parts store doesnt have a ring expander.
Donny, Do these rings come already gapped for the cylinder? You did not mention anything about gapping them correctly in the cylinder before fitting to the piston? What should the gap be?
Hey Dony. I have a Suzuki 400 Eiger. My motor isn't working good. It is running lean. I purchased a new carb thinking that was the problem but it is still lean where it turns my exhaust glow red at the header. I think it may be a leaking head gasket. Where the cylinder head meets the top of Piston there is a gasket that looks to be leaking. Wet an brown around that area, like it's been leaking. Will leaking head gasket cause it to run lean and turn pipe red. It glows at night. Never did that before.
I recently installed new rings on my Briggs & Stratton mower engine (OEM parts) and I ran into a couple of problems that I think are causing low compression. First, one of the compression rings had absolutely *no* paint stripes on it and the other had only one pink paint stripe on it that was further to the right of the gap than the instructions indicated it should have been; there was no second mark. So, I basically had to guess at how they were supposed to be installed on the piston and I think I guessed wrong. Also, the upper ring groove had a spot where it narrowed, causing the ring to stick and preventing it from moving freely. It did not appear to be the result of damage, so I'm not sure if it was like that by design or a manufacturing flaw. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.
You should have also mentioned that you always want to follow the service manual if there are no instructions with the rings. And for the wavy oil control ring there can be side that needs to be up.
The wrigley part that went in between the 2 oiler rings on some car pistons there is a correct way and a wrong way to place that in,some people don`t realise and place them up side down,its some thing to do with looking at the 2 end joins.does briggs & stratton state this with there piston rings,
Hi guts i have a generator and I'm about to change the piston ring. do i just need to buy the standard ring or i have to buy a bigger size in case i need to cut please help me guys
thanks for the the input of know hows there of knowledge there Dony mate do pistons and the rings age normally when the right amount of petrol and 2 stroke oil for the 2 stroke motors and the 4 stroke motors included ?
As with some rings, there is a top and a bottom. This also includes the center oiler ring. Have you found this to be true with Briggs and Stratton rings?
I'd like to say that I have more confidence when working on my own equipment after watching your videos. Thanks so much for all the videos that you have made!
Yes the rings have marks on the outside but what about the inside of the ends some times the ring has to go I up or down depending on the cut of the ring
Great video. Do you have a video (or can you do a video) about installing a piston ring on a 30cc 2-stroke engine? I have a DLE 30 that I want to install an upgraded piston ring but not sure of the steps.
Don, do you have a video on repairing a surging lawnmower engine ? I have a Husqvarna mower with a GCV160 that starts on the first pull but surges constantly and idles poorly. Thank You.
Hey Dony, I have a question for you on that generator motor. Did the connecting rod on it let loose? And if it did, was it one of those rods with only one bolt on the crankshaft cap?
Wow those are very tin rings, Just a thought, i never put the ring split on the trust surface of the piston! I am saying for the middle ring. My dad`s expirance teached me that, did you had any problems putting it there??
Gogle Plus Sucks The ends of the piston rings were shaped and a hole drilled in the track on the piston, in the hole a peg/pin was inserted, when the ring was on the piston it had to fit where the peg/pin allowed it to, the rings could not rotate on the piston, for a two stroke with ports it was manditory to make sure the ends of the rings never rotated round to an open port.
zx8401ztv two strokes have ring locating pins in the piston to keep the rings from rotating on the piston and snagging in the exhaust or the transfer ports. Due to the fact that four strokes don't have ports, these pins are not required
Once again, a very informative video, thanks. Have you had good luck with Chinese pistons? I got one for a chainsaw I'm going to be trying out. Husqvarna 350.
I have a Hirth F-33 engine. I can place the rings on the piston and the piston on the Con rod. Now, How do I insert the piston+rings onto the cylinder?
Very clear, except for your all-too-brief reference to a "ring decompressor". You say a ring decompressor could make insertion of the piston easier and avoid ring breakage or deformation. Please show us a ring decompressor, how to use the tool, and if possible, where to buy the tool.
Awesome video! Quick question: You stated in previsous chainsaw videos that any oil will work to lubricate the piston and ring(s) so thats it's not dry when you fire it up. Can you use a bit of bar and chain oil to lubricate a piston and rings instead of either like engine oil or transmission oil?
Rings should have a small punch mark on them for direction of install, facing up or down on piston. One side is shanfred, ,I guess that's what the paint is for.
OLÁ Dany 10/08/24 Pela forma que tentasses montar o anél de óleo eu diria que foi a sua 1ª vez. Os setores de aço conforme a montagem podem aumentar ou diminuir a lubrificação dos demais anéis. Abraços Roberto Udo Krapf
Les segments peuvent se mettre facilement même sur des gros pistons, il suffit d'avoir la technique Dans certains cas il faut vérifier le jeu a la coupe des segments, car il peut arriver que le jeu a la coupe soit trop faible, ce qui peut entraîner un serrage moteur ^^
+Nicholas Hoag it says "Installing Piston Rings with no tools"... A ring compressor is for installing >pistons< into cyl. I would recommend using tools for both tho :)
Hello Hello my .sir. thanks your channel Ihave problem please help me how to setting rings Gap on the piston motorcycle CG 125 thanks thanks your channel
Ya I just spent 4 weeks trying to find the information on how these rings on a piston the correct way goes not one video on RUclips talks about putting that mess ring n
Hey buddy u didn't show how that mess ring goes n that mess oiler ring has Togo n as a (w) not a (m) and it can not b overlap it just comes together and left aloe
Because these are OEM factory rings, not "file to fit" rings. *BUT* it wouldn't hurt to spend the extra 5-10 mins to verify the gap specs before installing. In his defense, this video is titled "how to install piston rings without tools", the title didn't lie about the contents of the video at all. Even though the wrong gap could mean doing this job twice within a month, a big no no for me. Other than that, his information is solid. 📖
Mine keeps dropping the crank bear everytime i have to rebuild mine so this time i decided that honda dont have a good motor at all for the trx450r thats y folks r putting the cr500 motor on the frames
The first (only) time I ever messed with piston rings I was taking apart a junk motor just to see what all was in there and when I tried to take the piston rings off I didn't know they were brittle and I snapped them in half. After that I always assumed you had to have a special tool to mess with them, glad to see you can do it this way, as long as you're careful, in case I ever need to.
Can’t get enough of your videos Don. They’re all good quality. I’ll be starting up my own small engine repair shop at this rate 😂😂😂. Kind Regards from Perth Western Australia 🦘🇦🇺
Continuing to lead the way in helping the common man fix his own stuff. The Doctor is in! You da man Don!
lol, thanks
Hi Dony. Thank you for all your videos you’re done over the years. There must have been so much time and effort gone into producing them. I enjoy watching them and have learnt a lot. You speak very clearly and explain things well. I’m sure there would be many others who patriciate your videos too. Kind Regards from Perth W.A. 🇦🇺🦘
Cancel
Great video.
In case you haven't seen it done, a worm gear type standard hose clamp works perfectly as a ring compressor. It covers all the rings completely and with gentle tapping around and tightening, the serve beautifully. I have even used them on VW engines.
Great site. Keep up the great work. Subscribed as of now.
I've broken more rings using piston ring pliers than just using my thumbs to install them , you don't have any "feel" as to how far you are expanding them with the pliers . Also to make it a little easier install the piston on the rod and clamp the rod in a vise with soft jaws ( if you can ) so you don't have to hold the piston while trying to instal the rings . Thanks for another informative video Dony !
thanks
From my understanding when you put the oiler ring in you need to put the little spacer in first and then wrap the two rings around it because they sit on a Ledge on that spacer if you look at it closely you can see a little ledge on the back side of it on each little bump
100% correct
Great vid donny !! I dont even own a piston ring installer tool.. I have always used my hands to fit them to the piston.. Ring tools can bust rings easy !!
In these winter months, I would add that it would help somewhat to put some heat (hair dryer) before before handling of the rings to make them more pliable and less prone to breaking.
Thanks for posting, I'm thinking of just refreshing a 2.0 pinto eng by just doing rings and Bearings on my own on the cheap, don't want to get shops involved at all. looking over videos of what's needed, I've always been a car guy wrenching on everything I have, I've just never rebuilt an eng on my own.
Lots of great stuff on your channel. Great job 🤠
An experienced motor technician showed how to do it without any tools and with no problems. So, if you don't have the experience, then you definitely should use the piston ring compressor.
carl cappy wah kaka wah ;-)
If you are well experienced small engine technician, then you could get away without using any special tools for installing piston rings but, you have to be very careful with plenty of experience.
You mean the ring installation tool... c",)
Thanks Donny I haven't done rings before but with your intrusions I reckon I can doit. Thanks.
Great video as usual Don! Thanks for taking the time to do these.
i want to thank you i have learned so much from you today you saved me on how to remove the armature on a gen was a great video thank you
you're welcome kevin
After replacing engine piston oil ring will the bike run efficiently as new .?
Approximately how many miles it may run after repairs. ?
Nice tutorial and to the point as always.
Thanks Dony.
thank you mr. don to share your idea...
I always wondered how much walking of the gap in each ring happens after installation. The rings spin fairly easily in their track, so it makes sense that some movement will occur. But I guess it would be unlikely for them all to walk into alignment together. Presumably after a few thousand revolutions they find a comfortable spot and then just stay put.
thanx a lot you have made it very simple
Best vid by far!
the paint reference is partly to orient the rings right side up- there is a slight bevel on the inside up edge of the ring which on the firing stroke allows combustion gas to get in behind the ring & expand it and seal to the cylinder wall. Just on the top one??
i'm sorry but this method is ok for the oil rings only!! the compression rings should never be twisted in any way or form because the will almost always be not perfectly circular after.. This can cause uneven ring wear i'm sure this matters less in a small engine but in a car this is a no no!! nice video tho good job and good work :)
I have a Honda HR214 mower with a gxv120 engine that smokes and burns oil. I am planning to replace the rings soon. Can I do this job without removing the engine from the mower? I am going to lift mower on to a table.
Been doing it without ring compressor for years no problems...do even on my harley
Thanks for the strategies you have provided here.
Electrician Dallas Tx brother where r u from ?
What if you have an older engine with cast iron rings that you cant spiral in place without breaking them? Mine are about twice as thick as in the video and the first ring grove is an entire inch away from the piston crown. Old tractors are fun and easy to fix until your only auto parts store doesnt have a ring expander.
Thanks for video I installed rings on cvg 160 Honda but still very little comp. Does not start please help thanks
Here's my new vid
hi don, what if i don't a decompressor? and any suggestions about the best product to clean the piston if it has a lot of carbon stuck into it.
Donny, Do these rings come already gapped for the cylinder? You did not mention anything about gapping them correctly in the cylinder before fitting to the piston? What should the gap be?
Hey Dony. I have a Suzuki 400 Eiger. My motor isn't working good. It is running lean. I purchased a new carb thinking that was the problem but it is still lean where it turns my exhaust glow red at the header. I think it may be a leaking head gasket. Where the cylinder head meets the top of Piston there is a gasket that looks to be leaking. Wet an brown around that area, like it's been leaking. Will leaking head gasket cause it to run lean and turn pipe red. It glows at night. Never did that before.
i think the valves need to be adjusted especially the exhaust
Straightforward, excellent information!
Nice
I recently installed new rings on my Briggs & Stratton mower engine (OEM parts) and I ran into a couple of problems that I think are causing low compression. First, one of the compression rings had absolutely *no* paint stripes on it and the other had only one pink paint stripe on it that was further to the right of the gap than the instructions indicated it should have been; there was no second mark. So, I basically had to guess at how they were supposed to be installed on the piston and I think I guessed wrong. Also, the upper ring groove had a spot where it narrowed, causing the ring to stick and preventing it from moving freely. It did not appear to be the result of damage, so I'm not sure if it was like that by design or a manufacturing flaw. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.
You should have also mentioned that you always want to follow the service manual if there are no instructions with the rings. And for the wavy oil control ring there can be side that needs to be up.
The wrigley part that went in between the 2 oiler rings on some car pistons there is a correct way and a wrong way to place that in,some people don`t realise and place them up side down,its some thing to do with looking at the 2 end joins.does briggs & stratton state this with there piston rings,
Hi guts i have a generator and I'm about to change the piston ring. do i just need to buy the standard ring or i have to buy a bigger size in case i need to cut please help me guys
thanks for the the input of know hows there of knowledge there Dony mate do pistons and the rings age normally when the right amount of petrol and 2 stroke oil for the 2 stroke motors and the 4 stroke motors included ?
As with some rings, there is a top and a bottom. This also includes the center oiler ring. Have you found this to be true with Briggs and Stratton rings?
Is it economical rebuilding engine driven welders if the engine is worn but power supply is still serviceable. Love the videos.
depends on the cost of fixing vs cost of a new replacement
opp
This was a really good video! Great information! Thanks!
thanks for watching
I'd like to say that I have more confidence when working on my own equipment after watching your videos. Thanks so much for all the videos that you have made!
So what is the difference between the 1 and 2 paint mark rings ?
Yes the rings have marks on the outside but what about the inside of the ends some times the ring has to go I up or down depending on the cut of the ring
Thanks so much Dony.
Great video. Do you have a video (or can you do a video) about installing a piston ring on a 30cc 2-stroke engine? I have a DLE 30 that I want to install an upgraded piston ring but not sure of the steps.
Don, do you have a video on repairing a surging lawnmower engine ? I have a Husqvarna mower with a GCV160 that starts on the first pull but surges constantly and idles poorly. Thank You.
first try cleaning it, or you may want to just get a new carb, they are dirt cheap and 99% of the time that is the problem
donyboy73 Thank You for your prompt reply.
nice pug! lol
great video, Thank you
i have a question, does changing piston rings to new ones or bigger ones increase the horsepower of the car?
Yes, it replace the 🐎power 😂
MAu tanya bos apa ini ada ring piston 16 hp atau 20 hp. Blas chat
Thank you!🙂
Hey Dony, I have a question for you on that generator motor. Did the connecting rod on it let loose? And if it did, was it one of those rods with only one bolt on the crankshaft cap?
they ran it with no oil, it had 2 bolts on rod
THANKS THIS WAS A GREAT HELP JEFF WETUMPKA ALABAMA
Very interesting. Great tip
Wow those are very tin rings, Just a thought, i never put the ring split on the trust surface of the piston! I am saying for the middle ring. My dad`s expirance teached me that, did you had any problems putting it there??
I can remember piston pegs from my early fiddling with two stroke engines, wonder why fourstrokes never bothered, can you enlighten me dony?
I've never heard of a piston peg. What's it do/for?
Gogle Plus Sucks
The ends of the piston rings were shaped and a hole drilled in the track on the piston, in the hole a peg/pin was inserted, when the ring was on the piston it had to fit where the peg/pin allowed it to, the rings could not rotate on the piston, for a two stroke with ports it was manditory to make sure the ends of the rings never rotated round to an open port.
zx8401ztv two strokes have ring locating pins in the piston to keep the rings from rotating on the piston and snagging in the exhaust or the transfer ports. Due to the fact that four strokes don't have ports, these pins are not required
George Bishop hi George!
Once again, a very informative video, thanks. Have you had good luck with Chinese pistons? I got one for a chainsaw I'm going to be trying out. Husqvarna 350.
the ones that are nice and shiny last longer, the Nikasil coated ones are better
donyboy73
thanks for the vedios Donny. keep em coming. is there a place in canada i can buy small engine parts?
I have a Hirth F-33 engine. I can place the rings on the piston and the piston on the Con rod. Now, How do I insert the piston+rings onto the cylinder?
Very clear, except for your all-too-brief reference to a "ring decompressor". You say a ring decompressor could make insertion of the piston easier and avoid ring breakage or deformation. Please show us a ring decompressor, how to use the tool, and if possible, where to buy the tool.
It's a ring COMPRESSOR tool. not a ring "DE-compressor".
make sure the oil and expansion ring are seated together with out a hint of binding. common mistake if any when installing .
what diameter piston? and pin? and what model is the motor?
How much is it cost
Awesome video!
Quick question: You stated in previsous chainsaw videos that any oil will work to lubricate the piston and ring(s) so thats it's not dry when you fire it up. Can you use a bit of bar and chain oil to lubricate a piston and rings instead of either like engine oil or transmission oil?
you could
Or does it show u the correct guarge for the ring gap
WHAT IS THE VALVE LASH ON A 14.5 OHV BRIGGS AND STRATTON ENGINE JEFF WETUMPKA ALABAMA
you should have the opening in the ring line up with the skirt no?
No checking ring gap ?
What gap lol
Rings should have a small punch mark on them for direction of install, facing up or down on piston. One side is shanfred, ,I guess that's what the paint is for.
I guess when you by the piston and rings together you don't have to check for ring end gap or groove clearance.
OLÁ Dany 10/08/24 Pela forma que tentasses montar o anél de óleo eu diria que foi a sua 1ª vez. Os setores de aço conforme a montagem podem aumentar ou diminuir a lubrificação dos demais anéis. Abraços Roberto Udo Krapf
Wow that ring gap is huge!
the new briggs OHV use Coated pistons 250cc snow engine model #1150
Thank you buddy
good work but ring gape is most important before installation of piston in to the cylinder -
Les segments peuvent se mettre facilement même sur des gros pistons, il suffit d'avoir la technique
Dans certains cas il faut vérifier le jeu a la coupe des segments, car il peut arriver que le jeu a la coupe soit trop faible, ce qui peut entraîner un serrage moteur ^^
Title says "how to install without special tools" but you say "always use a ring compressor". I'd call that a special tool.
+Nicholas Hoag it says "Installing Piston Rings with no tools"...
A ring compressor is for installing >pistons< into cyl.
I would recommend using tools for both tho :)
Nicholas Hoag .l
llkkkeeekekekow0q0qpowpwpqqqqqq0wpwppwpwpqowpwowlwkwkw
It says " The easy way with no tools" Interesting haha
Cool
Hello Hello my .sir. thanks your channel Ihave problem please help me how to setting rings Gap on the piston motorcycle CG 125 thanks thanks your channel
Ya I just spent 4 weeks trying to find the information on how these rings on a piston the correct way goes not one video on RUclips talks about putting that mess ring n
Fine
Prix svp
Hey buddy u didn't show how that mess ring goes n that mess oiler ring has Togo n as a (w) not a (m) and it can not b overlap it just comes together and left aloe
احسنت
I wonder why they don't do this at the factory.
more labor time or more robots
i actually break the ring
AdamKent LOL!!
vay compasiar ring
good morning, I ask if possible to contact in private, thank you
sorry, no speak inglish
They're OIL rings. Not "oiler" rings. Come on man !!!
U have to no ring gap and the correct way for these rings Togo n u r leaving alot of things out of your video
Because these are OEM factory rings, not "file to fit" rings. *BUT* it wouldn't hurt to spend the extra 5-10 mins to verify the gap specs before installing. In his defense, this video is titled "how to install piston rings without tools", the title didn't lie about the contents of the video at all. Even though the wrong gap could mean doing this job twice within a month, a big no no for me. Other than that, his information is solid. 📖
Ive got a trx450r too and my motor has been rebuilt 4 times i havnt had much luck with the 450 motor im trying a cr500 on mine next
Mine keeps dropping the crank bear everytime i have to rebuild mine so this time i decided that honda dont have a good motor at all for the trx450r thats y folks r putting the cr500 motor on the frames
Do not ever install a piston ring without a spreader. That is shade tree mechanic shit.
Like!!! donyboy77
Did u fart
pulp pp