Big Boys Toys

Does anyone have any tricks for installing piston rings?
I was using a conventional ring compressor installing the new disign low restriction rings and kept getting hung up on the first oil ring. The block does come with a slight champfer which should help assembly,but really causes hang up. I ended up making my own ring compressor out of a drain pipe clamp. The material was thinner than the standard ring compressor which allowed the clamp to sit inside of the chamfer and let the rings get by.
Is there some secret to it that I'm missing?
Thanks

Tinkerer

I found that you have to keep constant pressure on the piston or a ring will pop out under the compressor. And make sure the compressor is on straight and tight.

Crazyhorse

Do yourself a real favor and buy a tapered sleeve ring compressor. You'll never go back to the other kind again.

Tinkerer

I agree about the tapered sleeve - but one size doesn't fit all.
Also with the tapered sleeve you can still get a ring to pop out unless you keep constant pressure on the piston.

formula31

I got the tapered billet compressors from Summit in most of the sizes, they work great. I made a clamp to hold the compressor ring down to the block before I started pushing the piston, that helped.

Crazyhorse

Yup, what these two guys said. But the tapered compressor sure beats the daylights out of the 2-cent wind-up compressor. And it looks really cool too. Especially when you get a whole drawer full of them for all the different sizes.

turbo2256

I was teaching a friend how to assemble engines. He was building a 455 Buick myself a Boss 302. I had the tappered sleeve he had the band style. I had all my pistons in and he was on his third. Also using those band style I always had this fear of sliping and cutting the s##t out of myself.

razor1115

If you are running a wet sump, I would NOT run these. I made that mistake trying to ring out every last ponie in one of my engines. Ring manufacturer didn't tell me they were strictly for dry sump systems - can't handle the volume of oil being splashed on them.

Corsa 31

Be sure you have the correct ring set. I was putting together a MK V block and the ring set was for deep oil ring grove and the pistons were shallow. The first oil ring would hang up just as you stated, they fit in the oil ring groove but would not compress due to the expander was the wrong size. The correct set slide in without difficulty.

Big Boys Toys

Thanks for the reply on the cone type ring compressor.
My block measures 4.6655 plus or minus a few tenths. I acquired the closest cone available which is a 4.470. It did not sit correctly on the block so I altered it by putting in a sawcut, and then I decreased the chamfer on it to match the block.
THE THING WORKED SO SLICK THAT I HAD TO PULL THE PISTON BACK OUT CAUSE I THOUGHT I MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN A RING OR TWO, NOT SO It WORKED REAL SLICK.
I guess this is the place to go to get quality tips.