Shade tree piston ring compressor

[Ali]

I’ve been reading ‘The grapes of wrath’ by John Steinbeck - it’s a good book, so far.

They’re travelling across country (US) in an old Dodge. They stop at the side of the road to replace a rod, and pull out an entire rod / piston from a scrap car. To get the piston back in without a ring compressor they wrap thin brass wire round the piston rings to compress them, hoping the brass will burn off and be soft enough not to do any damage. Just curious if that could ever work? Steinbeck seems remarkably well informed about auto-mechanics, but I suppose a lot of people were back then.

I remember being amazed when my old man told me about changing big end bearings at the side of the road on some old British car, but I can’t remember the make.

 

[Will!]

I'd hazard a guess that the wire would break and become trapped as a strand between the ring and piston wall, leading to a horrible lack of compression and a scored piston wall. Eventually it would break off and half would fall into the sump and the other half would probably get jammed in the valve when it was eventually ejected.

Then again, an old Dodge probably didn't have much compression anyway.

Mrs Will! once told me a story about her grandfather, who was driving them on holiday to Cornwall (from Yorkshire), when the engine fell over in Devon. Not to be one to let such a minor inconvenience ruin the holiday, they got a tow to where they were staying and he went straight to the nearest breakers to procure a new engine - which he swapped over while on holiday.

They done make 'blokes' like they used to.

Or engines that can be swapped so easily.

 

[Morrisman]

Wouldn’t the wire simply push off as the ring enters the bore? I’ve used jubilee clips as piston ring compressors before now. And string, on a 500cc single pot engine.

Even used rope on big air compressor piston rings, talking 12” diameter 2nd stage.

 

[jerrytug]

I remember that chapter from reading the book 40 yrs ago.
It was a Hudson Super Six car.
Either JS had done it himself or he was told the technique by a man who had done, I think.
Will have a read of it later
Good question!

 

[tom2207]

just use a screwdriver and care ,, couldnt see that method working , the oil control ring would stick with it in the groove , and the other rings are flat so no where for the wire to go . Ive put rings in with two screwdrivers before , ive used a strip cut from an old oil can and a jubilee clip too ,,, ah the good old days.

 

[jerrytug]

Mind you I was forced to use jubilee clips as ring compressors, on a trawler start-air compressor, and I broke the new £500 rings.
Should of used brass wire

 

[tom2207]

Mind you I was forced to use jubilee clips as ring compressors, on a trawler start-air compressor, and I broke the new £500 rings.
Should of used brass wire

you forgot the strip from an oil can ,,,,

 

[James1979]

Tool I found last year after years of struggling and the odd snapped ring is a piston ring pliers.

they make life really easy.

 

[tom2207]

Tool I found last year after years of struggling and the odd snapped ring is a piston ring pliers.

they make life really easy.

Often looked at buying a pair , i just used a few turns of pvc tape round my two thumbs ,,

 

[jerrytug]

Ok it was a 1925, 4 cylinder Dodge.

 

[Ali]

View attachment 261568 View attachment 261569 View attachment 261570 View attachment 261571 Ok it was a 1925, 4 cylinder Dodge.

your memory isn’t bad, they were in two cars by then, the other was the Hudson

 

[badabec]

Woody Guthrie, Talking Dust Bowl Blues, on the same journey to California, describing his car and journey. Woody was friends with Steinbeck

 

[Morrisman]

Very moving book I read about the Great Dustbowl and the depression disaster. It tells the people’s story, those who loved and suffered through it, explains how it started, the low life con men who took money to supposedly end it etc.

 

[xmetal]

When I was a kid I remember helping my dad who was repairing the engine on his mkll Cortina. He made ring compressors out of old tin cans and used bits of wire to close them before pushing the pistons back in to the block from underneath.

 

[mcostello]

Was in an old timey auto parts store 40+ years ago and an old Gent came in and asked for one (1) big end bearing! Did not want a set. Fella behind the counter told him He had to buy a set. Asked why only one? He said He was around 2000 miles away when the bearing let go. The onlyy thing He could do was to drop the pan and cut a slice off His belt and trim it up and put it back together. He stopped at several stores and bought up all their belts. After a day He figured out that if He would punch a hole in the belt it would let the oil in. Took most of a week to get home. I asked why did He not just find a junkyard and put another engine in it? Or at least bum a used bearing off of Them. Never got an answer.