Ring compressors

[kawasock me]

I bought a ring compressor from Pep Boys today for 9 bucks. It works great. You oil up the inside of it, wrap it over the piston, tighten it and slide the piston part way into the cylinder.

Then I just taped on the top of the piston with my fingers and it dropped right in. It made the job so much easier it was definately worth the money and easier than the hose clamp trick.

 

[crkid]

I may buy one then. I hate holding the rings on with my hand while sliding the cylinder on. I wasn't sure how well those would work, but now I'm going to Autozone for one. Thanks for the review.

 

[IrishEKU]

Hey CR,
Want a set for .75 cents?




Thought so.... :D .....LOL








Heres what you do: Take a pop can preferably Mountain Dew (something about caffine and 2 strokes :p ) and cut the ends off. Slice the can up the side and wrap the piston. Squirt in some WD40 or some oil. Then start folding or rolling the edges over like a tube of tooth paste. Once the rings are compressed slap a pair of vise grips on the crimp near the rings and insert! A little trick I learned in the ARMY for air compressors and genorators, but works fine for my YZ125. :) :aj:
Good Luck!
PK

 

[Txbigguy]

I always use a zip tie. Just zip it up around the piston to compress the ring. Slide the cylinder over it. The cylinder pushes the zip tie down and then you just have to cut the zip tie off. Takes just a couple of seconds.. :aj:

 

[IrishEKU]

Hey TX,
Another good idea from all of us in the peanut gallery!
Whoo Hooo! ;) ;) :aj:
PK

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Before one of you guys breaks your arm patting yourself on the back for saving $9 it's important to remember that you have to be careful not to damage the coating and/or the surface finish on the face of the rings during assembly if you expect them to seal properly. Standard hose clamps tend to have sharp edges inside where the worm gear slots are punched through that will destroy a ring fairly quickly and zip ties with adjustment ridges cut over the majority of their length can act like a file when you pull them tight and push a ring past them. You don't have to believe me though, just try your favorite method of installation and then immediately pull the barrel and look at the ring's face with a strong magnifier (10x) like a spark plug viewer or a loupe. You'll be amazed what you might see.