looks like head gasket time,89 force 125

Jiggz

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With the new bearing kit, all you need from the old piston is the rod but the wrist pin is pressed fit into the old piston. I have to used a hydraulic press to push it out. The new wrist pin is locked with spring clips rather than pressed, which is a lot easier.
 

sportrider

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ok I got the wrist pin out of the old piston with a press, unfortunately I failed to mark the direction the rod was facing on the piston. which way does it face? I know how the piston faces.
 

Jiggz

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There are stamped numbers on the rod which are supposed to face up.

If you have a digital camera now is the best time to put it to good use. Lol
 
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sportrider

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ok I see the numbers and I see there is an arrow that with the numbers facing up so is the arrow
 

Jiggz

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For some reasons your uploaded pics are not "clickable" nor are they showing at all. You might want to edit and re-upload them again, save and hopefully works. But yes, the rod main body has one side with stamp numbers on it while the other is blank. The numbers face up, i.e. facing the direction of the flywheel.
 

Frank Acampora

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Some people use several different methods of re-assembling the con-rod and rollers with success but I like to put the rollers back one at a time.

The con rod will want to "walk" on the wrist pin and it will be difficult to get between the crank cheeks.. At any rate, you can look up some past posts (not mine) about how to guide the big end. After getting the big end around the crankpin, I like to grease the bearing cages and work them around the crankpin. Then, I grease each roller individually and inset into the bearing cage individually, counting all 16 so I know none are missing. Then I work the rod cap through the reed opening in the correct orientation--you DID not the direction the cap fits on the rod, didn't you? Finally I gently snug--not even tight, just take out the slop--the rod bolts and rotate the crank a couple of times. This will true the rod cap. Finally, with a pencil point or scribe I check the ground flats for trueness and tighten the cap bolts to 190 INCH pounds.

It IS slow going, you need patience, and sometimes they fight you but then again, sometimes they cooperate and go in without a fuss.

By the way: retrieving rollers with a magnet is a bad idea: They are dead hard and will instantly be magnetized to some degree. THEN, If any steel enters the bearing area, they will attract it instead of letting oil flush it out, accelerating roller and crankpin wear. Better to retrieve them with a greased rod. It is not all gloom and doom because most times no steel will get into the bearing area but if you have another set of rollers lying about, use them. I mention this so others will not make the same mistake.
 

sportrider

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thanks for the tips, I should re-title this post changing a piston the wrong way! lol I did note the con rod cap orientation to the rod. so at least that was done right the first time :)
 

sportrider

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I got the port cleaned up and honed the cylinder last night. I think it came out really nice. now I'm just waiting for all the parts to show up to re-assemble it and break it in again. if everything comes on time the boat won't even miss a weekend on the lake.
 

Jiggz

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I don't think this was mentioned yet, it is also highly recommended to chamfer the port holes to prevent the rings catching up again in the future. It doesn't have to be a lot at least to remove the sharp edges of the holes especially the vertical edges. I used a conical grindstone on a dremel tool to do mine. Just make sure you stuffed the bottom of the cylinder wit rags to catch the debris.
 

Jiggz

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Great! Now it's just a matter of waiting for the parts and slapping it back together.
 

sportrider

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I received the gasket set last night, the piston should be here hopefully by the weekend.
 

sportrider

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one more question. what plugs should I be running? when I bought it it had NGK's in it, I downloaded a owners manual online that shows it calling for Champion. all my Jeeps and any other Mopar product run Champions, is the Force any different?
 

Frank Acampora

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Actually, you have a large choice of spark plugs. Typically Champion L20V were used but later on Force switched to the Mercury L76V so those are OK too. NGK BUHW are a direct swap for L20V. You can also use Champion UL18V which was an old Chrysler plug. Autolite has a direct replacement for L20V but I forget the number. The major thing to remember is to use a surface gap plug. Bent electrode plugs (While some people swear by them for better idle and less fouling problems) DO run hotter and can melt a hole in the piston crown. I prefer a poor idle to the chance of needing to replace a piston. WAY easier to clean a fouled plug.
 

Jiggz

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From experience with my 125HP, I've ran it with both Champions and NGK's. I started with the L76V, moved to NGK BUHW and now finally with NGK BUHX. So far only BUHX gave me a smooth idling and acceleration.
 

sportrider

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ok cool deal it had the BUHX in it, I had switched to the UL18V's good to know both are correct.
 

sportrider

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I got the Wiseco piston this afternoon. installing the piston on the rod was easy, the only real challenge was re-installing the bearings on the crank pin, that took a while thought I had it once then lost # 14 roller behind the cage and ended up pulling them all out and starting over just to be safe. it was nice to finally get # 16 in to place. I got the rest of the engine together, primed it and after a few cranks it lit off. I ran a compression test on it again and now have 125 psi in# 4. the engine is definitely tighter then it was, I'm sure it will loosen up a bit after it breaks in again. thanks for all the advice!! I'll report back again once I've had a chance to run it on the lake.
 

sportrider

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EPIC CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE...I ran the engine for about an hour and a half in a barrel in the driveway with no issues. today I took it out to the lake, it fired right up. after idling for a little at the dock, I took it out into main lake to clear the no wake zone. I brought it up to 3000rpm it sounded ok, I opened it up as soon as it hit 4500rpm I heard a quick rattle and as I went to pull back the throttle it locked up. lucky I was close to the marina and got a tow in from another boater. when I got it home I tore it down to find it ate the bearings on the big end of the connecting rod. the only logical thing I can see that caused that was I must not have got them seated correctly. I was able to salvage the new piston and the rings,the cylinder didn't get touched. the rod is jacked up, and the crank pin doesn't look good either. so looks like I'm going to have to pull the powerhead off and open it up. I'm tempted to just buy a bearing and rod and try again, or just make it a 3 cylinder. lol
 

Jiggz

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That's really unfortunate after all those hardwork. I wonder if you did any break in with the new piston before opening it all the way up? This is a requirement even though only one piston was replaced. And then there is also the requirement for 25:1 fuel oil mix for the break in runs.
 

sportrider

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I'm going to buy a used crank and rod. does anyone know if the bearings will be transferable from my crank to the new to me crank? (providing they're not damaged) are they pressed on the crank? I'm going to try and pull the powerhead tonight and open it up, any advice so I don't do more damage?
 
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