RE: JPOR: Piston removal

["BRERETON, John" <John_BRERETON@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is an interesting topic to me.  I too am rebuilding an AMC engine, only
it is a 258 for my CJ.  Like you, I have never done it before either, but I
have a friend that is willing to show me the ropes.  He is a Studebaker man
himself.  I guess AMC and Studebaker aren't all that different.  We'll see.
Fortunately, I have another 258 in the Jeep now which runs pretty good for
110K+ miles.  Only paid $100 for it and the car it came in.  AMC's don't
sell for much.  It does have some blow by though and I think the leaks are
finally stopped after dumping a couple bottles of that leak stop stuff from
the auto parts store.  You can find the basic "how to" information in any
Hanes, or Chilton's manuals.  You can get these that are model specific
within a few year period.  The Jeep Bible is also a good source.  It is
basically a step up from a Hanes manual that has a few added tidbits of
information.  They would be a good resource to start with.  It would be nice
to have one that listed all the "tricks" as one person pointed out.  Maybe
someone on this list should write one?  There is obviously a lot of  talent
that reads these posts and I am sure there is a market out there for such a
manual.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Obi-Wan [mailto:bvh@inetnebr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 05, 2000 3:36 PM
To: jeeptech@off-road.com
Cc: jeepoffroad@4x4wire.com
Subject: JPOR: Piston removal


****************Please Remember to snip your replies***************
You guys will get sick of me before I'm done with this project...

Once I've got the crankshaft removed from my 401 V8, is there any
reason why I can't remove the pistons from the bottom to check/replace
the rings?  The TSM says I have to remove them through the top, but
that assumes the crank is in place.

When removing through the top, the TSM says I need to ream out a
little ridge that's along the top of the cylinder bore before the
pistons will slide out.  What exactly is the "ridge reamer" they
talk about, and can I just do the same job with a Dremmel tool?

The TSM says to use a ring expander to install the compression rings
on the pistons.  What is this, and is it really necessary?

Similarly, it says to use a ring compressor to install the newly-ringed
pistons back into the cylinders.  What is this, and is it really
necessary?  Is it still necessary when installing pistons from the
bottom of the cylinder (see question #1)?

				-- Obi-Wan
				   '95.5 YJ, '77 Wag (under the knife)

-- 
Ben "Obi-Wan" Hollingsworth
obiwan@jedi.com
Many people don't understand this type of devotion; in fact some think of
our
mindset as a sickness or as an aberration of the human mind. -- Rick Pewe
              Anybody want to buy a Jeep XJ Dana 44 rear axle?
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