Tricks to Removing Stuck Rings?

I have a Buick 322 that had very low compression and would only run for ~30 seconds at a time if I put oil in each of the cylinders before firing it.

With the engine in the car I tried soaking the cylinders with PB and ATF/Diesel but the compression would not come up.

So I pulled the engine and tore it down to find the rings stuck as expected. Now I am having a hell of a time freeing them up. I have soaked them in diesel for 6 hours, I boiled one of the pistons in a mix of water, vinegar, and dawn dish soap, soaked them in gasoline for 12 hours, ran them through multiple 8 minute cycles in a harbor freight ultra sonic cleaner, s****ed around the rings with a razor blade then put them back in the ultra sonic cleaner...


(Click for a larger image)

I do not have the time or money to buy new pistons. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Ryland

 

i would try combustion chamber cleaner, the kind you spray down the carb of a running engine to remove carbon, its made to disolve carbon, i use it for all kinds of cleaning.

 

I'd bust them off. See the lower part of the top ring in that pic; it looks like that part of the ring is sticking out a bit.

I'd start there with a tool shaped like an ice pick. The pointed sharp part would want to stay in the center, rather than gouging the piston edges. Just angle the pick and use a small hammer to force the end of the ring like you were trying to spin the ring around the groove. They are brittle, so it should either break off in pieces, or it might get the ring to start to free up.

The lowest ring is 3 piece and are flexible. The inner corragated part will come right out if you can find the joint. Get that out, then the two wipers will be loose, those are flexable also.

Watch the auction site for new-old-aftermarket ring sets. I just piced up a set for the same age Olds for 15 shipped.

 

I'm with F&J on this one. Get an awl or a reasonable facimile there of and start to worry that ****er out of there.

 

I've done that before. All you have to do is get under the edge and start gently prying. Sometimes, they let go then but if they don't, no big deal....you weren't going to reuse them anyway.

 

What F&J said, but I would wrap the pistons rod with a shop rag or something soft and clamp the rod in a vice where the piston doesn't flop around on you makes getting the rings off a lot easyer. Also make sure you use something soft on the vice head where the piston rest on the vice. Hope this helps.

 

Could it hurt to try some Aircraft Stripper?

 

Eyeball your ring lands real good too, after you remove all that stuck ring / corrosion combo...........

After all the damaged aluminum is gone, you may not have a "serviceable" ring land there.

 

i hope the OP comes back and tell us how this turned out, i also wonder if heating the piston from the under side with a heat gun would open up the ring land a little?

 

mix up a 50/50 batch of acetone and ATF....let it soak overnite.

Its free up those rings like a dream @!!

Rat

 

Once you get all of the rings off the pistons, there is a tool you can buy to clean out the ring lands. I even think they still sell it in Sears. If your on a budget, you can do like the old timers and break one of the old rings nice and clean, and use it to s****e and clean out the lands. Be careful with this method, as the ring material is tougher than the piston material, and you can easily gouge out some metal. You just want to clean up the carbon and deposits. Soak them in solvent and clean them up good before putting new rings. Be sure and check how the new rings fit, and that they turn easily around the land of the piston. TR

 

I got 5 of the rings off using a ice pick like tool and a hammer but the rest are not budging. I let them sit overnight in gas. I'll try ATF/Diesel too.

Ryland

 

Gas probably won't do it, they are already varnished.

If you haven't already tried it get yourself some liquid wrench (called liquid wrench) and give them a soaking every once in a while for a day or so. I have a block in the ba*****t that had a mouse move in sometime in the last 50 years or so. it had two stuck lifters in it. I soaked it morning and evening for about 2 days and everyonce in a while I stuck a finger under the lifter and tried to wiggle it. The liquid wrench finally broke her loose after the second day and I pushed them out with my finger.

 

Don't apply force too soon or carelessly...if you fubar the grooves or lands in any direction you will regret it!
I'd go get real carb cleaner now. Somewhat weak but much better than gasoline cleaner can be bought in a little bucket at NAPA, something more like the good old days is a particular Berryman number that was poste here recently. That stuff will obliterate anything that is not metal, but is toxic as all get out and the strength and endurance of the smell is almost unbevelievable. Your wife and anyone else within 100 feet will not like you anymore.
Hot tanking will neatly remove the pistons from the rings forever, but I think you said it was the pistons you wanted to keep...

 

Has anyone ever used alum to dissolve steel out of aluminum parts? Sounds like it could be just what I need.

Ryland

 

I knew a chick once that swore that alum was the miracle cure.

I think you are looking for something majic. There have been a ton of good suggestions but none of anything that any of us have suggested is going to work better than good old fashioned persistence.

 

I've always had good luck with brake fluid , very high detergent and penetrates well .

 

X2 for the real carb cleaner, that's actually what I meant by solvent, sorry I wasn't more specific, TR

 

i wish i had one of your pistons to try my tricks on..lol

 

You might also try candle wax, if it can get in between severely rusted threads of a nut and bolt, it might work to get between the rings and lands, TR

 

I gave it a go, used a propane torch to heat the inside of the piston, not sure if it helped any.

As for good old persistence I have been fighting these pistons two days straight. Wake up in the morning around 10 and go out and work on them and only come in for lunch and am exhausted by dinner (usually around 7). I'm not just twiteling my thumbs at them.

I will give wax a try.

Is the napa brand carb solvent any good? Its all they have in stock.

Ryland

 

How about Coke? LOL!

 

We unstick motorcycle rings in the oven. Pre heat the oven to 400 and then stick them in. The rings should pop free...

 

done this..it works

remember the good oven mitts..these *****es are hot when they come out and you may have to dink with the rings and pistons while they are hot to get the ring out of them..work em hot..and see what you got

 

Tried it. Put one piston in a 450* oven and let it sit for 20 minutes. So far I have been un-able to even budge the rings on that piston.

 

Ill give them a try hot. How long should I leave it in the over for?

 

them *****es is welded in there eh?

is there evidence of the piston melting a bit on the sides..is the ring groove at the same level as the piston ring?

 

till the piston is at 400

 

im thinking the engine that these came out of suffered a loss of oil and possibly coolant and it ran til it siezed.or majorly over heated?.so the pistons might not be what you want to put back in a good engine anyways..
are they gauled..or to spec. as far as size in diameter?

 

I've gotten varnished rings out two different ways:

1) This really works: mix liquid WD 40 with diesel, (50/50) soak the pistons in it for 2 days. I had some 327 pistons I really wanted to use, and this freed them up.
Farmers in these parts use this solution.

2) Some of that 'varnish' may be rust (ring rust) I soaked some bad ones in my water tub (30 gallons in plastic tub) with 1/2 cup Borax laundry soap mixed in. (HAS to be Borax) Connect the negative cable of a 12 volt battery to the item with rust, and the positive cable to a piece of s**** steel. Immerse the items in the water, then cover it loosely. The charge of ions will remove the rust, and it will form on the s**** steel piece wired POSITIVE.
Works like a champ...