How hard is it to replace piston rings?

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Adam - 05 Dec 2005 04:19 GMT

I just recently got my drivers licence and got ownership to my dads 93
sonata v6. It eats oil, smokes, and its not very peppy; the mechanic
my dad always brings it to said it was the rings and it would cost $600
for him to replace them. I, now the owner of this car, think paying
600 for this is crazy and would like to attempt this myself. I have
had experience with small engines, in fact my 78 skidoo needed a ring
job, and I pulled that off without any problem. If I followed the
manual step by step, is there anything that would be overwhelming that
would justify paying the 600 dollars? And speaking of manuals, should
I buy a repair manual like the Chilton one or is the hma one online
sufficient? And are there any 100% necessary "special tools" needed
for this job?

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Brian Nystrom - 05 Dec 2005 14:07 GMT

> I just recently got my drivers licence and got ownership to my dads 93
> sonata v6. It eats oil, smokes, and its not very peppy; the mechanic
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> sufficient? And are there any 100% necessary "special tools" needed
> for this job?

Far more difficult than the actual ring replacement is the removal and
re-installation of the engine. That should be your bigger concern. How
much equipment do you have access too and how long can you afford to
have the car laid up?

Before you consider doing a ring job, I suggest that you check the
compression first. If it's good, it indicates that the rings are sealing
properly and probably don't need replacement.

Next, I would rebuild the head with new valve guides and seals, which
are a more likely source of oil consumption and smoking problems than
the rings. That's not a particularly difficult job and it probably needs
to be done even if the engine does need rings.

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Adam - 05 Dec 2005 17:27 GMT

Ack, I wasn't aware I had to remove the engine to get to the rings. I
have no engine lift to do this, but time is no issue, but work is, I'm
lazy and if it requires that much work I will work on it because I like
to procrastinate. I might look into doing the head-rebuild, that
sounds like it would be relatively painless and could solve the
problem.

I still am open for suggestions on the repair manual choices.

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Brian Nystrom - 06 Dec 2005 13:38 GMT

> Ack, I wasn't aware I had to remove the engine to get to the rings. I
> have no engine lift to do this, but time is no issue, but work is, I'm
> lazy and if it requires that much work I will work on it because I like
> to procrastinate.

I hear ya'. I have a tendency to do the same thing. Replacing rings is a
top and bottom job. Perhaps it would be possible to do it without
removing the engine, but I wouldn't bet on it and I'm sure it would be a
pain.

> I might look into doing the head-rebuild, that
> sounds like it would be relatively painless and could solve the
> problem.

The head rebuild shouldn't take more than a few hours. Depending on how
it's designed, you may need to heat it and it's likely to require some
specialized tools to press the guides and seals in place, but they
should cost considerably less than having someone else do it. For that
matter, you could remove and strip the head, then have someone install
the guides and seals, and do any necessary valve grinding for you at a
modest cost.

> I still am open for suggestions on the repair manual choices.

I the online manual is available for your car, I'd consult it first.
Having written instructions handy can be useful, so perhaps a Haynes
manual is worth buying, IF it has info on YOUR car. Sometimes, they're
too generic or don't cover specific model variations. A Hyundai dealer
should be able to order you a factory manual.

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John Horner - 11 Dec 2005 17:23 GMT

If you know what you are doing and have the proper equipment it is not a
very hard job, but those are big ifs. $600 is extremely reasonable
considering the labor hours involved.

John

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