Piston Rings

[MuscleNRice]

My First Post:

My integra has been burning oil and I would like to replace the piston rings. I feel i could do it myself if it weren't for my utter lack of tools (cherry picker, ring compressor, and much more) and my daily dependence on my working car (my friends are only takers, not givers). Any ideas on how much this would cost at the average mechanic?
Also, what items would you suggest for a basic tool set and what would that cost? I am a high school student with the kind of funds that a part-time job brings with it. I have an almost purely textbook knowledge of cars with little real world experience (I once took apart a carbureted jeep v6). I am mechanically intuitive and dream of knowing and doing all things automotive.

Thanks dudes, I hope you enjoyed my first post.

[curtis73]

If you were to buy all the tools, the parts, and the literature (like a rebuild book), you're well-equipped for the job, but expect it to take much longer than you expect. I'm a pretty accomplished mechanic and my first engine build took waaaay longer than I expected.

The other thing I have to mention is that just replacing the rings may not be really a wise choice at this point. Cylinders wear in odd shapes and patterns as they age. Over the years, your rings have worn into that shape but they're no longer able to conform and seal. For this reason you are burning oil. Simply replacing your worn rings with new perfectly round rings might make things MUCH worse. The tools you would need to buy are also very specialized, like a ridge reamer. When are you ever going to use that $150 tool again?

Internal engine work like this is always one of those quandries that has no proper answer. You have three (extremely generalized) options at this point; Keep driving this one as it is which is basically free, put new rings in yourself for $400 including parts and tools you may never use again, put a rebuilt engine in for $1200, or buy a different used car for $3000. Those numbers are just representative, but they give you an idea.

The thing is, if you disassemble the engine to do this work, you should have it tanked and cleaned, which means new freeze plugs. If you're going that far, you've already completely disassembled it, so you should have new bearings. If you have new bearings you should have the crank checked and ground. If you have the crank checked and ground you should have the rods resized. You should also have the bores re-sized and honed which means new pistons. If you get new pistons, you get new pins. If you have the head off, it should be checked for warpage. If its off it should have the valves checked. If they leak you should have a valve job. Before you know it, you've spent $3000 on fixing an engine when you could have spent $1200 to replace it.

Internal engine work is one of those things that you either band-aid and hope for the best on an old engine, or you just replace it with a rebuilt unit. I think you'll find that the cost of a rebuilt engine and renting a cherry picker is cheap enough that it will easily offset the cost of the ring work you are planning.

Then you have to weigh the other options... will this work increase the value of the car as much as you've spent? Chances are that it won't. If you need to sell the car you won't get back what you put in to the work. There are countless other things to consider like the condition of the interior, suspension, paint, glass, etc.

Since you pointed out that finances are a major concern, don't give it to a mechanic for new rings. You'll end up doing the absolute minimum requirement for the maximum price. Its a very labor-intensive job that requires a complete teardown and you'll pay three times as much as the cost of a new engine.

Without having more knowledge of the car's condition, I would say weigh the costs of either replacing the engine entirely, or swapping the car for another.

[MuscleNRice]

Thanks for your thoughtful response. For now I'll just continue to add a quart every so often. The cost of the oil I'll add and the minor inconvenience I'll experience for the remainder of the car's life with me no longer seems to warrant such extensive measures. I guess this is a case of wanting to do more work than the car needs or will let me. I've actually considered buying the cheapest piece or corolla I can find simply to further my acquaintanceship with the inner workings of a car. Much appreciation for your time.

[TheSilentChamber]

You can find used motors for that care all day long for around $250 each, granted they may not be in any better shape than yours. If your wanting to learn you could pick one up from a junk yard, rebuild it, then when its finished you could drop it in. One of the good things about these large chain parts stores like Auto Zone and O'riellys is that they rent tools and you get your full deposit back on it when you take it back.

A good tool set is going to cost you, but its the only way to go. I have many thousands of dollars worth of tools, but the average person will not need all of that. Craftsman has a decent mechanics tool set that runs around $300, but you can find them on sale for around $200 alot- this will include most everything you will need to disassemble a motor minus specialty tools. I recomend Craftsman personally- most all of my hand tools are Craftsman, Most of my specialty stuff is Snap-On. If you start out with a basic set of sockets and wrenches then add stuff as you need it then over time you will aquire everything you need (and alot of stuff you dont need... but it looks intemidating hanging on the wall .... like my 42" pry bar...)

[MuscleNRice]

Thanks, im gonna look into those craftsman sets

[2.2 Straight six]

Originally Posted by curtis73

expect it to take much longer than you expect.

that even possible.....?





....i'm jokin with ya'

[curtis73]

Originally Posted by 2.2 Straight six

that even possible.....?

Haahaahaahaahaa. I'm such a freakin dork!