New Rings

Rings come in a boxed set. Using the instruction sheet, based upon bore diameter, one needs to check for proper gap, and remove material where needed. In my case, several rings needed to be slightly filed/sanded to get proper ring gap. I placed a ring down a bore, part way, then used an inverted piston with #2 ring in place, and pushed the ring part down the bore. This ensured each ring was perpendicular, and gave an accurate measure.

Expander

Following the instructions, I first placed the expander so that the gap was at the wrist pin.

Lower Oiler

Next came this ring, the lowest, with the gap at 90 degrees to the expander. Note that the oil ring set does not require gapping, and is set at the factory for proper gap, per the documentation.

Waves

The spacer ring is in place, again turning 90 degrees so that the gap is at the wrist pin, opposite the gap on the expander.

Oil Ring Top

Last to fit is the top oil ring, again turning 90 degrees.

Compression Scraper

The next ring on the piston is the lower compression ring, which has a scraper edge cut into the perimiter. This ring is labeled "top" so that you don't get the ring installed upside-down, and is installed with the ring opening at the same position as the expander.

Top Compression Ring

Rotating the piston 180 degrees, the top compression ring is installed and ready for action.

Oiled Up

A liberal amount of oil is applied to the piston rings, and is then worked in. This, of course, necessitated a re-aligning of all of the rings to their proper gap locations. Lastly, these big end bolt slip covers are applied so that the bolts don't accidentally damage the bearing surface of the crank.

Enter the Bore

Inserting the piston assembly into the bore for the first time is nerve-wracking. The piston rods have to go in in a specific direction, or they will not marry up with the crank properly.

Ring Compressor

The piston is wrapped with a well-oiled ring compressor, then set down on the deck. Without a ring compressor, this would be a near-impossible job.

Tap, tap, tap...

Gentle tapping with the handle of a rubber mallet is all that is needed. If there is no progress with gentle tapping, a re-assessment of the situation is needed. There were several times that a ring had slipped under the compressor and was opened enough that it was interfering on the deck. This then required re-binding with the ring compressor, and starting the process over.

Liberal Coating

A nice coat of TX7 and Royal Purple on the big end bearing as an assembly lube, and I'm ready to install the rod end caps.

Oiled Nuts

The big end nuts were well oiled to prevent binding, then torqued to their proper setting (as stated on the documentation that came with the MiniSpares connecting rod bolt kit).

They're Home

Look at those lovely, gold tops. The PolyDyn ceramic coating really looks good!