heres some info thats been openly shared on other forums, so i thought i would share it here aswell
if you have a piston/sleeve which has lost its pinch, you can resize it yourself and get some more life outta it.
heres what you need:
*Hose clamp -- from your local auto parts dealer about. 50¢
*The corresponding tool to tight the clamp. and
*The sleeve to be resized (DUH!!)
Due to other ppls recent experiences, i have added a Tip at the bottom of this how to regarding this first step which i recomend you read before doing anything.
Put the clamp around the sleeve (The sleeve I'm using is from my Pro.15 engine) and tighten it up. Do not tighten it too much. Tighten it until its hard to move the piston inside the sleeve.
***In this step use caution***
Put the sleeve on the stove so it gets really hot. The stove I used was a glass top stove so I just put the sleeve on top of the naked glass. If you have a glass top or a normal ELECTRIC stove just put the sleeve right on top, but if you use a GAS stove I would suggest putting the sleeve inside a pan or some kind of recipient so the sleeve is not exposed directly to the fire. I left it there for about 2 minutes.
********CAUTION***********
Grab the sleeve with a pair of pliers (be gentle with it when using pliers, since its really hot, you could easily bend the sleeve out of shape) or some oven gloves, and QUICKLY drop it inside a container with water. This will cause the sleeve to stay the way you tighten it up when you take away the clamp.
Now, if you can't get the piston to go inside the sleeve after the process, then take the sleeve, this time without the clamp, put it upside down on top of the stove and heat it again. After a moment take the pliers and grab the piston by the connecting rod and force it into the sleeve. This will open up the sleeve and allow the piton to enter tightly. DO NOT leave the piston inside the sleeve when you drop it inside the water again. Take the piston out by just grabbing the sleeve with the pliers and pulling the piston by the connecting rod. The rod will get really hot too so use another pair of pliers or just a rolled up piece of paper towel. Dry everything well and rinse it with denatured alcohol.
After this just put some after run oil on the piston and sleeve. Put the engine back together putting after run oil on everything. You will have to break-it-in again. I hope this saves you some money on a new engine or piston and sleeve replacement.
Edited 12-7-05 to add extra info:
I would recomend you err on the side of caution, and go only a little bit tighter, then re-test the fit.. its very easy to redo this method several times to add the extra pinch you require and get a snug fit,but if you go too tight it's a very hard job to get it bigger again..
Edited by: Oblivion
if you have a piston/sleeve which has lost its pinch, you can resize it yourself and get some more life outta it.
heres what you need:
*Hose clamp -- from your local auto parts dealer about. 50¢
*The corresponding tool to tight the clamp. and
*The sleeve to be resized (DUH!!)
Due to other ppls recent experiences, i have added a Tip at the bottom of this how to regarding this first step which i recomend you read before doing anything.
Put the clamp around the sleeve (The sleeve I'm using is from my Pro.15 engine) and tighten it up. Do not tighten it too much. Tighten it until its hard to move the piston inside the sleeve.
***In this step use caution***
Put the sleeve on the stove so it gets really hot. The stove I used was a glass top stove so I just put the sleeve on top of the naked glass. If you have a glass top or a normal ELECTRIC stove just put the sleeve right on top, but if you use a GAS stove I would suggest putting the sleeve inside a pan or some kind of recipient so the sleeve is not exposed directly to the fire. I left it there for about 2 minutes.
********CAUTION***********
Grab the sleeve with a pair of pliers (be gentle with it when using pliers, since its really hot, you could easily bend the sleeve out of shape) or some oven gloves, and QUICKLY drop it inside a container with water. This will cause the sleeve to stay the way you tighten it up when you take away the clamp.
Now, if you can't get the piston to go inside the sleeve after the process, then take the sleeve, this time without the clamp, put it upside down on top of the stove and heat it again. After a moment take the pliers and grab the piston by the connecting rod and force it into the sleeve. This will open up the sleeve and allow the piton to enter tightly. DO NOT leave the piston inside the sleeve when you drop it inside the water again. Take the piston out by just grabbing the sleeve with the pliers and pulling the piston by the connecting rod. The rod will get really hot too so use another pair of pliers or just a rolled up piece of paper towel. Dry everything well and rinse it with denatured alcohol.
After this just put some after run oil on the piston and sleeve. Put the engine back together putting after run oil on everything. You will have to break-it-in again. I hope this saves you some money on a new engine or piston and sleeve replacement.
Edited 12-7-05 to add extra info:
I would recomend you err on the side of caution, and go only a little bit tighter, then re-test the fit.. its very easy to redo this method several times to add the extra pinch you require and get a snug fit,but if you go too tight it's a very hard job to get it bigger again..
Edited by: Oblivion