Just want to ask a general question about a small engine piston, figured there may be someone here more knowledgeable 'bout this than me....Anywho, been trying to replace the piston rings in my old 3 wheeler, (never done this before) and can't get the rings to compress onto the piston so it will fit into the bore. I noticed what looks like some kind of build-up around the grooves where the compression rings go, and figure maybe thats what is keeping them from compressing. Is it normal to have build-up in this area?
buildup is normal, you need to clean the grooves out completely before trying to assemble it. i have never had any problems getting rings on an atv to go into the cylinder. i start with the top ring, work it in by hand, then go to the next one and repeat. i ahve rebuilt several atv engines. a little oil might also help, just dont freak out if it smokes a little on startup ;)
NOW we are talking something i know like the back of my hand :D
Thats what I figured. At first I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the rings weren't compressing right. Oops.
take one of the old rings and snap it in half, use it to clean the grooves out