PISTONS AND CONNECTING RODS
Removal
- Drain the cooling system and the crankcase. Remove the intake manifold, cylinder heads, oil pan and oil pump following the procedures in this section.
- Remove any ridge and/or deposits from the upper end of the cylinder bores as follows:
Turn the crankshaft until the piston to be removed is at the bottom of its travel and place a cloth on the piston head to collect the cuttings. Remove, any ridge and/or deposits from the upper end of the cylinder bores. Remove the cylinder ridge with a ridge cutter. Follow the instructions furnished by the tool manufacturer. Never cut into the ring travel area in excess of 1/32 in. when removing ridges.
- Make sure all connecting rod caps are marked so that they can be installed in their original positions.
- Turn the crankshaft until the connecting rod being removed is down.
- Remove the connecting rod cap.
- Push the connecting rod and piston assembly out the top of the cylinder with the handle end of a hammer.
Avoid damage to the crankshaft journal or the cylinder wall when removing the piston and rod.
- Remove the bearing inserts from the connecting rod and cap.
- Install the cap on the connecting rod from which it was removed.
|
Installation
- If new piston rings are to be installed, remove the cylinder wall glaze. Follow the instructions of the tool manufacturer.
- Oil the piston rings, pistons and cylinder walls with light engine oil. Be sure to install the pistons in the same cylinders from which they were removed or to which they were fitted. The connecting rod and bearing caps are numbered from 1 to 4 in the right bank and from 5 to 8 in the left bank, beginning at the front of the engine The numbers on the connecting rod and bearing cap must be on the same side when installed in the cylinder bore. If a connecting rod is ever transposed from one block to cylinder to another, new bearings should be fitted and the connecting rod should be numbered, to corres-pond with the new cylinder number.
- Make sure the ring gaps are properly spaced around the circumference of the piston.
- Install a piston. ring compressor on the piston and push the piston in with a hammer handle until it is slightly below the top of the cylinder (Fig. 72). Be sure to guide the connecting rods to avoid damaging the crankshaft journals. Install the piston with the indentation notch in the piston head toward the front of the engine.
- Check the clearance of each bearing following the procedure under “ Connecting Rod Bearing Re-placement “.
- After the bearings have been fitted, apply a light coat of engine oil to the journals and bearings
|
**
