Well my old piston ring compressor broke when we were installing piston's on one of my engines over the weekend, seeing how its nearly 70 years old and been used quite a bit, though I'd ask some questions as to what to get for a new one. A buddy of mine told me to buy the tapered style compressor's to fit the bore and just shove the piston in, another guy told me to buy another universal band style. So a quick search on the internet provided me with far too many options, so can anyone tell me what you guys like to use? I did a quick count on all the different model and sizes of engine I have around, not counting identical engines, like 5.9 or 8.3 cummins, which I have quite a few of each of, I came up with over 40 and just quit counting.
Tapered style, not as universal but once you use it your'll ask yourself why did I use that band POS for so long. It also gets rid of ring breaking worries.
Just do it like a couple wrench pullers at a local dealership did. One stood on top of the piston while the other had a large flat screwdriver and a hammer pounding the rings in. That was back before cameras on cell phones. The tapered ones are great but not universal. I would get some tapered ones for your common bores but you will always need a band one laying around.
If you used a universal band style for 70 years I think you will be fine with another one like that. The tapered are nice but it's not practical to buy 40 of them. Make sure you get a good one though not the cheap crappy ones.
I'm sure taper is better but he would need 40 different ones. The old style has work for this many years I would get a new one. The trouble might be finding out which are good ones. I have two one is ok and the other works much better. Most things are purchased on the internet now. The problem with that is not being able to feel and touch the product to see if it's any good. Online reviews help somewhat not all are real or from people who know what there talking about.
When i started out as a mechanic i did 2 overhauls a week for almost 3 years i liked the wrinkle band ones but i also used the reguler ones alot. I never had a problem but i was very careful and i replaced them often if something didnt act wright and it seemed after alot of use it took more force. I also reringed alot of engines that needed to be bored and thats hard on a compresser thats were the wrinkled band one worked good.
Here's a pic of what I have used for years, it's an early KD set. Never had any problems or broke any rings using this tool. The bands are fairly thick so they stay flush with the deck surface. OTC makes a tool set like it. Best I have found for bores 4.5 and down. But for large Cat, Cummins and Detroit the tapered is the only way to go. IMO. I took theses pics because I was loaning a friend these tools to rebuild his small block Ford. Wanted to make sure I got every- thing back and in proper condition. Truck Shop
Standing on the piston while the other guy uses a screw driver and hammer, I've laughed for over a half hour on that one, sure glad I asked about ring compressors or I'd never have heard it. The style Truck Shop posted look really nice, I'll do some investigating on those, I'm not sure I want to go buy another tapered one every time I have to install pistons in the next engine. Thanks for all the input so far.
Ah but ring funnels will spoil you... they make some out of something like UHMW now, very slick
I have the kd set, its missing the 5.4, still manage with the next size down. I have tapered sleeves for most of the engines i work with. We also make them from used sleeves so its not incredibly expensive.
lets see some of the ones you have made