Bad piston!

[kacevedo3217]

Okay so this is the first accord ive ever owned its a 98 accord coupe ex. It has 205,000 miles on it with timing belt, water pump, pulleys and tensioners done at 198,000 miles. So my problem is my cel came on and and said i had a misfire in the cylinder closest to the timing belt. So long story short i did a compression test and all my cylinders had healthy compression except for that one. So me and my father (who is a certified transmission technician at the ford dealership by my house) came to the conclussion it was a bad ring. So i ordered new pistons and a complete gasket set and my question is if i replace that piston should the car run fine? And is there anything else i need to complete this job? Also how long should this job take me since my father said resetting timing should be easy i plan to do it this weekend so if anyone with experience doing this could let me know asap Thanks

 

[98ExAccordwv]

Um why did you order new pistons if you think its just the rings?
And just think of the time it will take this way. You have to:
1. Drain oil and coolant.
2. Disconnect negative battery cable.
3. Remove timing cover and belt.
4. Remove valve cover.
5. Remove distributor.
6. Remove the exhaust header.
7. Disconnect intake pipe from throttle body.
8. Remove head bolts and cylinder head. (with intake manifold attached - it'll be easier this way if the motor is staying in the car).
9. Remove oil pan bolts and oil pan.
10. Remove girdle.
11. Rotate the assembly to where the bad piston is in TDC
12. Remove the rod bolts and cap.
13. Gently push the rod and piston out from the bottom (be sure to not let the rod hit the cylinder walls when doing this).
14. Remove existing rings from the piston.
15. If you're going to replace the piston you'll have to have the wrist pin pushed out and then pressed on with the new piston.
16. You'll need to hone the cylinder now to be sure that the new rings will seat correctly.
17. Verify that the ring gaps with the new rings are to spec.
18. You're going to want to replace the rod bearings as well (verify the clearances are to spec on these as well).
19. Reassemble everything in the reverse order. (You'll need a ring compressor to get the piston back in).
Also, you'll want to scrape away the old head gasket, but be sure not to gouge the block while doing so.

You may want to pick up a Haynes manual before attempting this. These steps are obviously not detailed enough to perform the procedure either.

 

[kacevedo3217]

cause i got them used off ebay for 50 bucks and this way i just have extra if i ever need them

 

[98ExAccordwv]

I've edited my post above.

 

[kacevedo3217]

Thanks that was all i really needed to know and the pistons i bought are already on rods so i wont have to swap out the piston itself. And my father has been a mechanic all his life and he said it would be pretty simple since hes used to working on big diesels and what not. i just wanted to know if the car would run properly once all is said and done. But thanks for the info it was very helpful!

 

[001Stunna]

Should it run fine? yes, providing all the work is done to spec and the ring is the issue.
Will it run fine? thats up to you/your father as you guys are the ones doing the work.

 

[F23A1AT]

I'm confused, your father is a certified mechanic and he didn't tell you all that you need. Also you paid 50 dollars for how many pistons? If a set of four, I seriously doubt the car will last through the break in period. Furthermore, you cannot just drop in new pistons drop the head back on and do so timing stuff then turn the key.

If you have a "bad piston" then the bore will need honing and AFAIK all the cylinders have to be symmetrical, so all four will have to be honed/resized. Then you'll need to rebalance the crank since the entire weight of the rotating assembly has changed. You've got a lot of work to do, assuming it can be done cheaper than the purchase of a used long block you should proceed, otherwise find a used F23 at a salvage yard.

 

[ejreams]

I'm confused, your father is a certified mechanic and he didn't tell you all that you need. Also you paid 50 dollars for how many pistons? If a set of four, I seriously doubt the car will last through the break in period. Furthermore, you cannot just drop in new pistons drop the head back on and do so timing stuff then turn the key.

If you have a "bad piston" then the bore will need honing and AFAIK all the cylinders have to be symmetrical, so all four will have to be honed/resized. Then you'll need to rebalance the crank since the entire weight of the rotating assembly has changed. You've got a lot of work to do, assuming it can be done cheaper than the purchase of a used long block you should proceed, otherwise find a used F23 at a salvage yard.

This

 

[kacevedo3217]

Okay well I dont have a bad piston itself its just the rings. I only bought the new pistons because i figured it would be easier that way but it seems im wrong. So i would like to know is would it be easier to just replace the rings assuming thats all thats wrong.

 

[F23A1AT]

You can't just put a new set of rings in. My second paragraph explains why. If you have a blown ring it is scratching the bore and those scratches will need to be taken out by expanding the size of the bore. All of that will depend on the damage once the pistons are removed from their bores. You may get lucky though.