pistons breaking

[dude w/ a lude]

ive got a 68 camaro standard body style and im rebuilding the engine
its a small block 350 and im trying to install the pistons but they keep breaking i thought maybe it was the ring compresor catching the piston so i went out and bought another 1 and broke another piston\

i can get them in to about the last 2 mm then a chunk will fly off

im thinkin maybe its to cold but its about 50 degrees in my garage and i dont think thats too cold

if ne 1 can throw suggestions my way i would apreciate it.

[89IROC&RS]

Could be a few things.

- temp might have something to do with it, but i doubt it
- what are you using to tap the pistons down? if you are using something hard it could do that.
- do you have your piston rings proporly gapped and installed?
- are they origninal pistons? or replacement units?
- where does the chip come off of? the top ring land?

[1992RS]

I don't think the temp is going to do that, 50 degrees isn't that extreme. Make sure your using a wood or hard rubber to tap them in. Oh, and make sure that they actualy fit in the hole in the first place. Not trying to call you out, but take all the rings off and slip that bad boy in the hole, see if it fits. You shouldn't have to fight with it.

[Hypsi87]

Originally Posted by dude w/ a lude

ive got a 68 camaro standard body style and im rebuilding the engine
its a small block 350 and im trying to install the pistons but they keep breaking i thought maybe it was the ring compresor catching the piston so i went out and bought another 1 and broke another piston\

i can get them in to about the last 2 mm then a chunk will fly off

im thinkin maybe its to cold but its about 50 degrees in my garage and i dont think thats too cold

if ne 1 can throw suggestions my way i would apreciate it.

Also, check to make sure that they are pointing the right direction. Pistons do have a front and back

[1992RS]

They still shouldn't break even if he was putting them in backwards, that would just cause the engine to seize up when he tried to start it.

[Hypsi87]

Thats what I figured, its been awhile since I have had to put pistons in. Just a thought.

[1992RS]

The only thing I can think of is he's either using metal to punch them in, the pistons don't fit in the first place, or he doesn't have the ring compressor in the sleave well enough and the top ring is catching on the deck and he's still trying to punch it through and he's losing chuncks out of the piston.