Re: Mercury 150 Ring Gap .040 (STD) on honed cylinder within tolerance - is this
Re: Mercury 150 Ring Gap .040 (STD) on honed cylinder within tolerance - is this
Crem,<br /><br />The ring compressors are removed once you get the rings into the barrel. You will see the light when you try to re-assemble the engine. With the rings inplace on the piston you will be unable to slide it into the sleeve(cylinderbore) because the rings will be expanded. Unless you have 2 friends and yourself stand around the engine to compress the rings as you slide them into the barrels (sleeves, cylinder bores) you will need ring compressors to do that. Do NOT force the piston into the barrel in the hope that the rings will compress on the small chamfers provided, they will simply break, they are very brittle.<br /><br />2 other things you will need to watch.<br />1) The other guys can correct me on this. I'm simply speaking from generic 2 stroke experience. The piston only goes in one way. There's usually an arrow that has to point to the exhaust side. Failing this will result in ring breakage on the first crank.<br /><br />2) The 2 rings, though similar, are made of 2 different materials. The one is usually shiny, and the other black. I can't remeber which on goes in the top groove, and which one goes in the bottom groove.<br /><br />And lastly, you're right. The pins in the ring grooves are where the open ends of the ring go. Once the ring is compressed in the barrel, those pins prevent the ring from turning. and sticking one leg in a port and breaking.<br /><br />Come to think of it, I'm not even sure we're talking about a 2 stroke here. Are we? I'll delete this post if not.<br /><br />OMG NO! Never knock a piston into the barrel with anything! To check the fit, slide the piston in without rings. It's a precise slide fit. Then remove the piston, attach it to the conrod again and resume assembly.
<br /><br />Alex