Replacing rings

[burnt03]

I'm getting some oil in my air cleaner and from what I hear, this is mainly caused by blowby from worn/cracked rings.

I don't have a engine hoist available to me and quite frankly, I can't really have it apart for too long (it's my DD).

I thought I saw a post somewhere that said you can remove the oil pan and replace them from underneath, is this right?

Also, having never done that sort of work on an engine before, could someone explain to me the use of "plastigauge" or whatever it's called?

Thanks

 

[chuglife]

i don't know for sure if it can be done. i believe plastiguage comes on a strip of wax paper (like a sticker) and you peel one off, stick it on what you're measuring and compress it in whatever you're measuring. then you can measure how squashed it is and you'll know how much clearance you have. as far as i know... HTH

btw is this what is causing your low hwy speeds?

 

[Mace]

Do a leakdown test first..

Find out what is really happening.

yes you can replace the rings without pulling the engine but it is a PITA.

Pull the head and pan, then push the pistons up. Problem is it is hard to break the glaze on the cylinders without honing them somehow. And that gets complicated when you still have hte crankshaft/camshaft in the motor..

Plastiguage is for checking clearances on the cranakshaft bearings (I am sure it has other uses too) while you are there replace the bearings and gauge them to see if they are still within spec.

 

[dd113]

Can you do it ? Yes. SHould you do it? No. A half assed rebuild is just that.

 

[wesb225]

You could do it but it would be alot better to get the cylinders honed so and then get the right size rings. To bad it is a DD. Good luck.