beetle piston rings

[sparktikus]

I have had my car diagnosed and my piston rings\ are bad
anybody know a procedure for doing this?
anybody tackled this job before?
will it be a case of replacing piston rings or do i need to have the bores honed out?

pease please please! any help appreciated i am so fed up with this car now had loads of work done to get to this position now
had work done so far:-

oil + filter
air filter
head reconditioned new vaves + seals etc
new head bolts
cleaned throttle body + maf
head gasket
coil pack
coil leads
water pump
timing belt + tensioner
thermostat
coolant sensor
lamda sensor

heeelp pls on piston rings>>

[DZLBUG]

Why are the rings bad? What are the symptoms? Has the compression been checked and what are the numbers? What is the history on this engine and how many miles does it have?

A re-ring is usually accompanied by a quick honing with a ball type hone to break any glazing and to restore the cross-hatch pattern on the cylinder walls. The cylinders should be measured before and after to make sure they are within spec. Do you have a Bentley manual?

You'll also need new connecting rod bolts as they are TTY. Careful inspection of the rod bearings would also be in order at that time.

[gforce1108]

This is a very over-simplified listing, but it gives you an idea of what's involved. Unfortunately, you will be redoing a lot of work that was already done (timing belt, head gasket, etc.)

Cylinder head is removed (whole separate labor list, but since you've had it done before, you should be familiar)
oil pan removed
rod caps removed
push pistons out the top.
re-ring or replace pistons, hone measure bore, etc
compress rings, install pistons (good time for new rod bearings)
Install rod caps with new bolts
install oil pan, head, etc.

As mentioned earlier, the Bentley manual would be a good starting place.

[sparktikus]

hi thanks for replys
the symptom is heavy smoking from exhaust tailpipe and spark plugs wet!
compression seems ok but i dont think this is a true test because the cylinders are wet so helping it to seal!
i thought it was top end originally thats why top end has been totally resealed, new stem seals head gasket etc

[cep]

The time to re-ring this car was when the head was off the first time. I would have cost very little more to do it then. I'm sure that's a lot of comfort now.

But, some questions:
How many miles on this engine?
What are the problems you are trying to correct, i.e., is it burning oil, lacking power...what?
Have you had the compression checked?

[FarrisK]

Originally Posted by sparktikus

hi thanks for replys
the symptom is heavy smoking from exhaust tailpipe and spark plugs wet!
compression seems ok but i dont think this is a true test because the cylinders are wet so helping it to seal!
i thought it was top end originally thats why top end has been totally resealed, new stem seals head gasket etc

What color is the exhaust smoke, and what are the plugs wet with? You could just be running really rich.

[sparktikus]

it is 2001 beetle 95,000 miles
obviously i had top end off thinking that the oil was getting down from top end past stem seals but obviously now its all back together i now know the problem is bottom end ie pistons!
local garage has confirmed this
symptoms:- pistons are wet and oily, heavy heavy white smoke from exaust. multiple misfires, i guess because plugs are being oil fouled
how much mmore work is it to get cylinder block out? i have had the head off a few times now so am quite used to stripping top section! and 3 head gaskets later here i am

[DZLBUG]

I would just leave the block in the car and do the honing and other work in-situ. It is pretty easy.

[cep]

Originally Posted by sparktikus

it is 2001 beetle 95,000 miles
obviously i had top end off thinking that the oil was getting down from top end past stem seals but obviously now its all back together i now know the problem is bottom end ie pistons!
local garage has confirmed this
symptoms:- pistons are wet and oily, heavy heavy white smoke from exaust. multiple misfires, i guess because plugs are being oil fouled
how much mmore work is it to get cylinder block out? i have had the head off a few times now so am quite used to stripping top section! and 3 head gaskets later here i am

If you've got the head removal process down pat, there isn't much more to it. All you have to do once you've got the head off is take off the oil pan, then unbolt each rod from the crankcase, and the pistons come out the top. Sometimes there is a slight 'ridge' at the top of the cylinders which is a smaller diameter than the rest of the bore because the rings do not touch this area. This can make pushing the pistons out the top of the bore a little difficult but it may or may not be there in your engine.

You would probably want to replace the rod and main bearings while you're at it.

Good luck.

[DZLBUG]

Regarding replacing the main bearings:

While you can carefully "roll-in" new main bearings with the engine and crank still in place...at least in the case of a TDI you can't do this without pulling the transmission as the rear main seal carrier blocks the main bolts. Not sure about the 2.0 is but I suspect it is similar. The other 4 main bearings can be replaced just fine, but it would be preferable to do all of them.

Bearings are optional unless you see evidence that they need replacing. Replacing just the rod bearings would be okay since you will have the rods out to do the rings.

[sparktikus]

I was thinking about taking the whole cylinder block out and getting it all checked and reassembled by engine specialists!
Whats the procedure for taking whole bottom end cylinder block off? is this much more work???

[gforce1108]

Not all that much more than pulling the cylinder head out. I'd pull the engine and trans together, or rather, drop them out together.

You'll have shift linkage, drive axles and a handful more electrical (sensor and battery) connections on both the engine and trans. The AC compressor can be pushed aside, but you'll probably have to break the power steering lines. Can't think of anything else off the top of my head. Read through the Bentley manual - it has pretty thorough step by step instructions.

Personally, I's say pulling the engine/trans whole is easier than replacing a cylinder head. From what it sounds like, you'll have no problem.