Piston Rings installation q's

[Mark W]

I am replacing the old stock 220 piston with a Wiseco (2002 KDX220) and have a question.

I see where the ring gap needs to be on the piston "pin" that helps in ring location. My question is how can you tell if that gap is in the right spot after the piston is in the cylinder? It took a little rotating of the cylinder to get the piston is and I could tell that the rinds were moving. I'm fairly certain that the top ring is in the right place but am unsure of the bottom ring. Can you look into the intake port and see if they are in the right spot? If not, can you rotate them with the piston in the cylinder?

My pistone moves up and down freely with no binging at all. Would this happen if the rings were not in the right spot?

Thanks for the help.

Mark

 

[BadgerMan]

Generally speaking, it would be pretty tough to get the piston/ring assembly into the cylinder without breaking a ring if the end gaps were not aligned properly relative to the pins. If the piston moves up and down freely within the cylinder, everything is probably aligned correctly.

 

[canyncarvr]

It's best NOT to have to rotate the piston at all during the install.

That said, it's pretty tough to 'guess' right when you use the 'piston-in-first' method (placing both the cylinder AND the piston together onto the cases/rod end).

No, you cannot see the ring ends once the piston is installed. Well, if you DO, something is very wrong!

You're likely OK, though. As already said, to force (and that's what it would take) a piston in that had a ring misplaced is going to take some effort. Once the piston is IN the cylinder correctly you don't have to worry much about the ring end going anywhere.

That of course is true only if you don't have to rotate that gap past a port. You would have to have the piston placed 'off' a good bit to have to do that.

It is considered generally good mechanicking to guide the rings 'through' the intake port when you slip the cylinder/piston on. Do that by sticking your fingers IN the intake port, putting some pressure on the rings as they go by.

If your piston indeed moves freely up and down with no binding, you're probably fine.