This is why Greg is awesome. He could have easily cut out the part where he broke the ring and made it seem like nothing went wrong, but he shows us his mistakes and how to avoid it in the future. Mad respect man!
ScrappyCoco the point about making an interesting video is making it interesting. The additional detail about breaking, albeit superficially negative, helps.
To all of the new people that have never seen any of my other videos - mostly the self proclaimed 'experts' leaving all the rude comments - I've clearly stated in several of my other videos that I am not a professional or a mechanic, just a guy with a car hobby. This isn't a "The best and perfect way to build your engine" series. I'm simply showing how I'm building my engine based on my experience and research, so that it can be used as an aid to others in their research. If the engine fails in 100 miles I'm still going to put myself out there and show it. I've been wrenching on cars for 15+ years literally since before I could drive and I've made plenty of mistakes. If you're saying you haven't, quit lying to yourself. To anyone that loves Miatas and wants to get better at working on them; me too. Welcome to TheCarPassionChannel.
You are great guy Greg, dont be upset by keyboard mechanics. I love your videos and what you do :-) Just make sure there will be another great episode of your build and people will appreciate that. Good job Greg!
I used the lisle spring compressor (the cheap one). The key is before you push the piston down in, you need to give the compressor itself a couple light taps all the way around with a rubber mallet. It level/flushes the compressor edge on the block deck. Then the piston slides right in. The second one you used is way better, but just for anyone watching - this is the tip. Nice vid man. I too teach myself the same way you do. It really is way easier than I ever thought it would be.
Stanley Orner you are right, the cheap compressors work good, it's just you have to make sure it's square to the block, then you can push the piston straight in the bore instead of tapping
bro you my everyday inspiration man. Its so hard to be a car enthusiasts living in nyc but you motivate me to keep pushing forward. Your videos push me to move out and find a place with a garage. your videos make me want to own a miata so bad. when I first started being a car enthusiasts I had got a civic Ek hatch lol done a lot of work on it but ended up getting rid of it due to some financial issues. grinding hard out here in the east coast. thank you Greg.
Idk how people that love cars can do it in a place like that, must be tough. Keep at it man, work hard and hopefully you can get a Miata someday, they are fun cars!
dude... you are the best car related channel out there! not only you explain everything in depth, but you also make it entertaining to watch. Props to you, can't wait for this build to be complete!!
I freshly pulled apart my 1.8 BP after installing another one in my car. This was my first time pulling and engine and tearing it apart. First time installing one too. Thank you for your little motivation speech. That's gonna help a lot of people including myself! Keep up the great work! 👌
I too did this stuff back when I learned to drive in the 70's after working w/ dad & uncles & bros. Your techniques are solid, safe, accountable and materially as good as anything I've been taught or observed in the past 40 yrs. as a shade tree mechanic. Your respect for the materials is as good as any pro mechanic IMHO. Thanks!
i did the same shit for my first engine build but i had 6 pistons and on the last one i got to anxious and the last ring popped out under the the ring compressor and i snapped it. i know the struggle you felt took a week break myself bc i was so mad lol,, but the second time i had a shop do it bc yea custom rings are pricey and i did not want to go through that again. i love your videos man your megasquirt videos really helped me with my build. i have a e30 bmw and they damn near use the same setups as miats so cheers to you man. you are an inspiration
Good on ya man. This was fun. I just built my first engine a few weeks ago and started it finally last week. Such a good feeling when it works. Those adjustable ring compressors are awful. Good call on the Wiseco tool.
Your filmography has improved so much over the past year, great video as always Craig. And I loved the music, chill, jazzy instrumental hip-hop is definitely the music I would stick with.
Maybe swap VW 1.9TDI in it? Sounds ridiculous, and no one did it, so you can have rwd with same power (no, no actually few HP less), but 200 ft-lb of torque at 2500 RPM is insane for offroad use. maybe...
Nice vid. One small comment. I did buy a 202 blue short motor from the wreckers, in about '93, that'd come out of a wreck. The boy had been breaking it in, and broke it a bit harder than... So the wrecking yard told me it was cheap because "it rattles and smokes." Investigation showed that he'd oiled the bores a wee bit too much. The rings and ring grooves and everything, were a black mess of half-burned oil. What did I have to do? Well I'd already bought another new set of rings, so I might as well use them - Those ones are obviously no good. What else? ... er... Run a hone around the bores a little bit, because they look a bit glazed... and put it back together. Oil stone and give the deck surface and head face a once over, new head gasket, and Bob was Dad's little brother. Five years later, you could still look down those ports and see bare Aluminium piston tops, including the green marker pen with the piston numbers on them. Not all that shabby for a mid-'90s back-yard built holden. So what had gone wrong for the first owner? He'd built it, but he'd gone a bit overboard with the oil on the cyl walls and oil in and around the rings and stuff. Possibly he fired it up very gently and just let it idle for 20 minutes, rather than running the engine at middle revs and full load within the first 3 ~ 5 minutes like you should. Possibly his oiled up bores also had assembly grease in them, I didn't get to watch him build it, I just had to clean the black goop out of his ring grooves. You should lubricate the bores and oil everything, but that doesn't mean pour half a cup of oil into each plug hole before you turn the key.
Kneedragon1962 this is funny to read. Just went through the same issue with our built Mx5 motor. Rings didn’t bed in. We think we were too generous with the oil and let it idle too long. Now having to rebuild. Good advice!
Installed a big bore kit on my supermoto and I compressed the rings by hand, one ring set at a time as the piston was being pushed down. Its a free way to do it, but man was it annoying and time consuming. Wouldnt wanna do it on anything but a single cylinder.
Hey you know what you're going to make mistakes when you are new to rebuilding an engine. Be proud that you're brave enough to try it. I've always wanted to do this but I've never been willing to put the work into it that needs to be done. Thumbs up to you!!
Not trying to be "that guy", I know everyone has their own way and they do what works best for them but I figured maybe I could share a tip. It should never take more then just your fingers to push a piston into its bore. Just clean the cylinder out well and squirt a good amount of oil on the piston skirt/rings all the way around (if you think it's to much, its most likely just right) and apply a good coating oil oil around the cylinder and just plop them in using the ring compressor and your fingers. I've seen a few people do the tapping in method with a handle or something because they couldn't push it in by hand and sure enough, it was either not enough oil used to insert the piston or one of the oil rings actually bent over. No it wasn't their first engine build either. Just figured maybe I'd share that to save someone one day, everyone makes mistakes no matter how seasoned you are.
I just discovered your channel yesterday while looking for information on setting up a EBC on megasquirt in tunerstudio. I did want to post up and let you know I also ended up needing to order a set of rings when doing my first engine rebuild. I was able to call Wiseco and order rings for a single piston. My out of pocket was less than $30 shipped. I just had to supply them with the piston ring specs. I filed my on ring gap and accidentally interpreted the .44 mm measurement in .044 inches. Likely won't make that mistake again. I've got a 93 Mx-6 4cyl boosted on megasquirt with 10.5:1 compression. So far it's quite fun on 7.4psi. Took the old numbers of 103whp/113tq to 196whp and 202tq on a "safe" street tune. Final goals are around 350whp/300+tq on 14psi on pump gas. Unless I get bit by the boost bug more than I have and decide to do methanol injection and shoot for closer to 18/20psi. :)
Thanks for the video's Creg! You inspired me to buy a Miata(MX5 here), first I wanted to turbo it, then I saw a V6 jaguar power miata on Carthrottle and last week I read something about the Honda K24 swap which also makes a lot of power with more reliability then a turbo build. So many choices :)
Love finding videos like this, I was thinking of rebuilding my engine soon too. Didn't even know you needed a tool like this, appreciate the upload! Totally grabbing one asap
I too am enjoying this series. You're very clear and detailed in the steps taken during this build. May I make one suggestion; list a video sequence order number for each video. I'm not sure if I'm watching step 8 then step 5. I know I have watched a few out of order, still really enjoy the step, but knowing what order number would be a nice addition. Thanks for all your effort to entertain and inform. Kendrick
Great video, Greg! Ringing an engine, in my opinion, is probably the most difficult part of engine building, aside from making all the initial measurements. Also, I have the same millionth Miata shirt!
Been there done that. You are right the key is to hammer the sleeve down on the block so that it is completely square. Lay a wood handle of a hammer sideways on the ring compressor and tap. The other key is to not hit too hard. If you are tap tap tapping and it won't move pull it out and reset. It doesn't take a lot of force to punch it in. But, like I said, been there, done that.
FYI: if you break a ring : you contact the people whom you ordered your pistons and rings from you can purchase individual rings . you also need a set of plati gauges to check the rod bearing clearance against the crank . but like he says do your research there are a ton of videos , and tools to help you with your build
I think you did a good job and it was a smart move upgrading your ring compressor. Recently I re-ringed my VR6 and I didn't have one for that engine since the cylinders aren't flush with the deck so I had to do it all by hand and used a small flathead screwdriver to help push the rings in lol. Pain in the ass and nerve racking but she's been taking the most abuse ever and is running very well for a VR6.
Great video! I'm just an amateur car hack myself but I enjoy learning along the way. Can do most stuff on cars without $100,000 worth of tools. Videos like yours are terrific! Thanks! New sub here!
Same tightening sequence for Main Caps. Torque and loosen, retorque at least three time to breakin threads on studs and nuts for same. Don't get in a hurry. Take your time. Color mark fasteners that have been FINAL torqued.
Just a couple of pointers, on a lot of engines the orientation of the piston in the block is critical, as is the orientation of the rods in the block. V engines that share rod journals especially. Another critical thing is never mix con rod caps, make sure the same cap goes back on the rod it came off of, and NOT 180 degrees from how it came apart.
Good that it was covered. I could envision someone coming to this video and going " Oh that's how it is done." and wipe an engine. :( Best of luck with the build!!!
New Jersey Bill Yeah I have thought about that as well since this video is getting quite a few more views than my others. I try to regularly tell people that this is not a how-to series, but more of a how-I'm-doing-it series, as I'm not a professional.
HA! I did the same mistake and broke a piston ring on my BMW build once, same way as you did.. It was forged pistons with rings specially designed for those pistons and it was damn hard to find new rings! Not much help in the company I bought the pistons from, so I had to source them my self through a dodgy French site.. But they arrived and was the exact same as the one's that I had :)
great show for the first timer. please do more and make a video on bearing clearance using plasti gauge. also piston ring finishing ( can't have them burs ) .
i have used one of those crappy adjustable ring compressors.... way inconvenient. we have one at school that uses about 6 different size bands that cover piston sizes in half inch increments and then some pliers that compress the band when you're ready to install. I'll have to look up the model but it was cake. i basically pushed the pistons in by hand (2-stroke boat motor so only 2 compression rings per piston)
Need to go through the tightening sequence at least three times to knock off the rough spots on the rod and rod bolt threads. Should be a stretch spec also. Need to measure untorqued bolt length, mark it down, tighten three times and finally the third time, measure untorqued length, mark it down, tighten to torque, measure length, should have stretched by thousands of an inch. Been through this MANY TIMES!
That ring compressor is fine. I made the same mistake and the reason is because the screw is right where the ring gap was. That small area is not being compressed. I now use the same compressor but I check with a flashlight to make sure.
Nice video man, just stumbled onto you for the first time. A quick suggestion for you from one creator to another. You should be linking the tool you used in this video. Get an Amazon affiliate and find that tool on Amazon and link it. Or there are other tool companies that will do affiliate linking with you. It's not a ton of money but if you do it right and your not trying to be a tool salesman but just want to bring your subs something of value, then it will work.
How did you manage to break a ring? I have installed heaps of rings using one of those adjustable ring compressors. You have a tiny chamfer on the top of the bore to guide it into the cylinder so you should never break a ring unless you hit it with a hammer after the ring compressor has lifted and the ring has popped out. Apart from holding the ring compressor down every couple of light taps on the piston I also tap around the whole edge of the ring compressor as well because they can twist and leave one edge up. However you are 100% right in buying a fixed ring compressor they make life so much easier, but again still exercise the same amount of caution as you would using the crap thing. Only draw back to the fixed ring compressor is they only do one size bore.
Dodgy Brothers Well this being my first engine build, it sounds like you're much more experienced. I can't really answer "how" but I know plenty of people have done it. The ring may have even cracked while the machine shop was filing it?
The only reason I have used the crap one so much is because we don't have a Summit down under to just order one like you did, so it is persisting with the crap one even though it has driven me nuts at times, and I've had rings slip out multiple times from it twisting, fortunately I've just never broke or chipped a ring like you did. All things being equal I would opt for the fixed one every time. Those adjustable ones should be used in an emergency only.
I would put money on you chipped it as you were knocking it down (otherwise the piece wouldn't be there) It is real easy to lift just one edge and it pop out, Looks like you tapped the piston after it popped out causing the chip. Also there is no need to hit the last hit any harder than any other taps, they should all be light taps even after you think all the rings are home. Look for a video on ring grinding there is a bit of an art to it.
Good way to file rings is putting them to the designated cylinder bore. Check with gauge that it is evenly deep all around. Then measure the cap with file gauge and adjust according to spec. No need for special tooling imo.
And for the ring compressor. Never leave ring cap in portition of tool where compression happen (where the tightening screw is.) That's a sure way to break your rings.
Hey Greg! You're an inspiration to me. Only recently did i decide i was going to go to school for my ASE. and 6 months ago i decided im going to buy a miata. In two weeks i get my 1999 Miata, with only 80k miles on it. I was curious, in your opinion, would it be worth it for me to start by turboing the miata, or first go for a Stroker kit with forged internals, then eventually turbo it. also if anyone else would like to provide their insight, i'd be willing to answer. Thanks! Also is it a downside to have a 6spd miata?
That depends heavily on your budget. I would highly recommend just spending $3000-$4000 on a quality turbo setup for the stock engine and see how you like it. For the price of building a stoker BP you could just as easily do a K swap and have even more power. The only real downside to the 6-speed is the gear ratios are very close so it's not optimal for turbo cars with wide powerbands.
Hey! Thanks for the response :) I got the car for an absolute steal, and today i just actually found out it is a 10th anniversary edition miata with the LSD and some cool other specialties. My budget is exactly $4700, and I would like to put a good amount of that into the turbo setup, But I would also like to upgrade other things on the car. What would you recommend getting for the vehicle? Also, I'm looking to daily drive on low boost, but enough to give the car an extra kick if that makes sense. I appreciate any help you can offer! Thanks again! Love the vids man
rayford21 Think about it this way: Nice clean Miata for $4000, quality/reliable turbo system for $4000. Now you've got a 2300lb car with 240whp for $8000. How many cars are going to be able to out perform it for the same cost? :)
Greg... be glad you're not building a rotary... I got to the point where I was supposed to superglue the apex seals to the apex corner seals and just about lost it... (true story)... Good luck with that bad boy
Ugh, that cheap ring compressor is the worst. That was seriously the most sketchy part of rebuilding my jz... it always wanted to walk around and was a pita to tighten. Sharper than hell as well! What did they get you for on the solid style?
One small thing. Greg said there are no such thing as stupid questions. And before you guys go ask questions on the forums. SEARCH. If you ask a question on some forums that had been covered many times before, you will get blasted and/or banned depending on how nice they are feeling that day. So please, just use the search tool before cluttering up forums with repetitive questions. Its all there, just gotta do some digging.
you must be a lazy forum mod, a forum is a community driven by individuals on all sides and their willingness to spread information. so if something gets asked daily... MAKE A STICKY. ADD TO THE HOW-TO SECTION or whatever your forums 'in your face' info section is. your mentality is piss poor for a forum and you should stay away from them if "search" is an acceptable response to you.
I find the best way to drop in pistons with new rings: let your nails grow for a week, then use oil on cylinder walls and piston&rings, then only use your fingers/nails and drop one ring at the time. works well, the oil ring is the trickiest. :)
you should have set up the spring compressor first before dropping the piston in the block. That is why you are not able to tighten the spring compressor properly making the ring popout. you also do not have to hit the piston that hard to drop it in. the slightest resistance should tell you that there is something stuck..
Looking to forge my 1.8 on my mx5 I've change things like brakes, bleeding, suspension, cam angle sensor etc etc. Just wondering excatly how hard is it to forge your own engine it's something I've always wanted to do and try out but being a first time it's a job which scares me tbh? But something I wanna do to test myself with to say this car is all built by me alone
You should say that the ring end gap has to be in spec (info is in manual if stock or is provided with piston if custom) and the rings have to be "rotated", so the ring gaps on single piston are at certain angle to each other.
Hey Greg! not sure if this was covered elsehwere, but why did you go with ARP rod bolts instead of a stud kit? do they not make studs for this engine? Price or availability? I'll be doing a build on my 1.8 turbo at some point and wanna make sure Im headed in the right direction.
Is your VVT miata with LSD? If yes maybe weld it? I know that it maybe be drag and track car, but 100% didn't disturb anyone, also it doesn't slide that much if suspension are adjusted for track days and especially with good tires
Nice vid, quick question: what has been your experience with the strength of the stock 1.6 diff? What can it handle it terms of horsepower. I have been looking for a miata in my area and there are a lot more clean 1.6s than 1.8s, and was wondering if it was worth holding out for a 1.8 in terms of the strength of the diff. Thanks.
brandoGTR48 The consensus is around 200wtq you're pushing your luck. I ran more than that for a good while, even with some autocross and drag, and never broke it. I did eventually swap out to a 3.9 from a 2002 Miata
Great video, and yes adjustable ring compressor are terrible.... Use only fixed diamater ones, also I didn't see you use plasti gauge for oil clearance? If you don't have plasti gauge handy a bore gauge is also perfect :)
Pavel Kirkov I wouldn't spend time sourcing an entirely different year block just so I didn't have to add a $15 fitting for the oil feed. Just me though
Just one thing, You should be able to install the piston with that tool by hand, no hammer or taps needed, tapping is a bad practice, if you need to tap something is wrong.
Didn't check bearing to crank, or ring gap clearances? And you ALWAYS rotate the crank, so the cylindar you are working on, the journal is furthest away from it. So you have more room to slide in the piston, without the conrod hitting the crank.
TheCarPassionChannel wish I had checked my clearances. Shops made a mistake and after only 150 miles spun a rod bearing. All torn down again and having the cranked turned and polished. It ran sweet before that though😥. Keep the vids coming. Helps me stay motivated.
How do you know what size pistons to get. I plan on taking my motor to the machine shop first to be honest and cleaned and I don’t wanna by the wrong pistons due to machine shop boring
lube the cylinder not the piston, last thing you want is oil in the compression rings that gets burned in on fire up. the oil rings will wipe all the oil off cylinder as it goes down. Rings DO NOT NEED OIL. If you oil the rings you run the risk of hurting break in
hi Greg! lovin your video's, your video's persuaded me to turbo my 5 😊. I've seen you use a red type of grease, i was wondering what type of grease it Is?
how do you put the piston into the weisco spring compressor? arnt you put into the same place where you need something to put it into the compressor? may be a stupid question but im not sure as to what happens here
This is why Greg is awesome. He could have easily cut out the part where he broke the ring and made it seem like nothing went wrong, but he shows us his mistakes and how to avoid it in the future. Mad respect man!
ScrappyCoco the point about making an interesting video is making it interesting. The additional detail about breaking, albeit superficially negative, helps.
To all of the new people that have never seen any of my other videos - mostly the self proclaimed 'experts' leaving all the rude comments - I've clearly stated in several of my other videos that I am not a professional or a mechanic, just a guy with a car hobby. This isn't a "The best and perfect way to build your engine" series. I'm simply showing how I'm building my engine based on my experience and research, so that it can be used as an aid to others in their research. If the engine fails in 100 miles I'm still going to put myself out there and show it. I've been wrenching on cars for 15+ years literally since before I could drive and I've made plenty of mistakes. If you're saying you haven't, quit lying to yourself. To anyone that loves Miatas and wants to get better at working on them; me too. Welcome to TheCarPassionChannel.
You are great guy Greg, dont be upset by keyboard mechanics. I love your videos and what you do :-)
Just make sure there will be another great episode of your build and people will appreciate that.
Good job Greg!
excellent work, your a good teacher because you know how to learn.
Thanks Greg no one has done videos even close to yours and I'm extremely grateful let the idiots talk...
i realize I am quite randomly asking but do anybody know of a good site to stream new tv shows online?
@Mayson Avi Flixportal xD
I used the lisle spring compressor (the cheap one). The key is before you push the piston down in, you need to give the compressor itself a couple light taps all the way around with a rubber mallet. It level/flushes the compressor edge on the block deck. Then the piston slides right in.
The second one you used is way better, but just for anyone watching - this is the tip.
Nice vid man. I too teach myself the same way you do. It really is way easier than I ever thought it would be.
Stanley Orner you are right, the cheap compressors work good, it's just you have to make sure it's square to the block, then you can push the piston straight in the bore instead of tapping
every tool is good if you know how to use it
bro you my everyday inspiration man. Its so hard to be a car enthusiasts living in nyc but you motivate me to keep pushing forward. Your videos push me to move out and find a place with a garage. your videos make me want to own a miata so bad. when I first started being a car enthusiasts I had got a civic Ek hatch lol done a lot of work on it but ended up getting rid of it due to some financial issues. grinding hard out here in the east coast. thank you Greg.
Idk how people that love cars can do it in a place like that, must be tough. Keep at it man, work hard and hopefully you can get a Miata someday, they are fun cars!
thanks man. appreciate it man.
We all have to grind and face frustrations in one way or another!
Keep grinding man!
NYC carhead here too man, keep on with the keep on. Just one step at a time. You're not out here alone
dude... you are the best car related channel out there! not only you explain everything in depth, but you also make it entertaining to watch. Props to you, can't wait for this build to be complete!!
I freshly pulled apart my 1.8 BP after installing another one in my car. This was my first time pulling and engine and tearing it apart. First time installing one too. Thank you for your little motivation speech. That's gonna help a lot of people including myself! Keep up the great work! 👌
I too did this stuff back when I learned to drive in the 70's after working w/ dad & uncles & bros. Your techniques are solid, safe, accountable and materially as good as anything I've been taught or observed in the past 40 yrs. as a shade tree mechanic. Your respect for the materials is as good as any pro mechanic IMHO. Thanks!
i did the same shit for my first engine build but i had 6 pistons and on the last one i got to anxious and the last ring popped out under the the ring compressor and i snapped it. i know the struggle you felt took a week break myself bc i was so mad lol,, but the second time i had a shop do it bc yea custom rings are pricey and i did not want to go through that again. i love your videos man your megasquirt videos really helped me with my build. i have a e30 bmw and they damn near use the same setups as miats so cheers to you man. you are an inspiration
Good on ya man. This was fun. I just built my first engine a few weeks ago and started it finally last week. Such a good feeling when it works. Those adjustable ring compressors are awful. Good call on the Wiseco tool.
Your filmography has improved so much over the past year, great video as always Craig. And I loved the music, chill, jazzy instrumental hip-hop is definitely the music I would stick with.
Hi Greg! Fantastic advice for everyone out there at 4:54
hehe he said 454... lol
Cant wait to start a 1.8 build myself :D
better than sweaty panties
Gingium will it be fully forged??
Maybe swap VW 1.9TDI in it? Sounds ridiculous, and no one did it, so you can have rwd with same power (no, no actually few HP less), but 200 ft-lb of torque at 2500 RPM is insane for offroad use. maybe...
Turned out to be a 1.7l build haha 😂 :p
A beast she is
Which supertech valve springs did you get gingium?
Nice vid. One small comment. I did buy a 202 blue short motor from the wreckers, in about '93, that'd come out of a wreck. The boy had been breaking it in, and broke it a bit harder than... So the wrecking yard told me it was cheap because "it rattles and smokes." Investigation showed that he'd oiled the bores a wee bit too much. The rings and ring grooves and everything, were a black mess of half-burned oil. What did I have to do? Well I'd already bought another new set of rings, so I might as well use them - Those ones are obviously no good. What else? ... er... Run a hone around the bores a little bit, because they look a bit glazed... and put it back together. Oil stone and give the deck surface and head face a once over, new head gasket, and Bob was Dad's little brother.
Five years later, you could still look down those ports and see bare Aluminium piston tops, including the green marker pen with the piston numbers on them. Not all that shabby for a mid-'90s back-yard built holden.
So what had gone wrong for the first owner? He'd built it, but he'd gone a bit overboard with the oil on the cyl walls and oil in and around the rings and stuff. Possibly he fired it up very gently and just let it idle for 20 minutes, rather than running the engine at middle revs and full load within the first 3 ~ 5 minutes like you should. Possibly his oiled up bores also had assembly grease in them, I didn't get to watch him build it, I just had to clean the black goop out of his ring grooves. You should lubricate the bores and oil everything, but that doesn't mean pour half a cup of oil into each plug hole before you turn the key.
Kneedragon1962 this is funny to read. Just went through the same issue with our built Mx5 motor. Rings didn’t bed in. We think we were too generous with the oil and let it idle too long. Now having to rebuild. Good advice!
Installed a big bore kit on my supermoto and I compressed the rings by hand, one ring set at a time as the piston was being pushed down. Its a free way to do it, but man was it annoying and time consuming. Wouldnt wanna do it on anything but a single cylinder.
Hey you know what you're going to make mistakes when you are new to rebuilding an engine. Be proud that you're brave enough to try it. I've always wanted to do this but I've never been willing to put the work into it that needs to be done. Thumbs up to you!!
it's all good man. always look forward.
I know this is 3 years ago, but one of the most beautiful things to me is the pattern in the cylinders on a freshly honed engine block
Hell yeah man! Stoked that you do these things the right way, I'm sure all this hard work will pay off with a hella reliable piece of machinery.
4:25 - 4:40 the lube on the bearings WILL CREEP OUT, under this load. Check the torque in 3-4 hours.
Not trying to be "that guy", I know everyone has their own way and they do what works best for them but I figured maybe I could share a tip. It should never take more then just your fingers to push a piston into its bore. Just clean the cylinder out well and squirt a good amount of oil on the piston skirt/rings all the way around (if you think it's to much, its most likely just right) and apply a good coating oil oil around the cylinder and just plop them in using the ring compressor and your fingers.
I've seen a few people do the tapping in method with a handle or something because they couldn't push it in by hand and sure enough, it was either not enough oil used to insert the piston or one of the oil rings actually bent over. No it wasn't their first engine build either. Just figured maybe I'd share that to save someone one day, everyone makes mistakes no matter how seasoned you are.
I just discovered your channel yesterday while looking for information on setting up a EBC on megasquirt in tunerstudio. I did want to post up and let you know I also ended up needing to order a set of rings when doing my first engine rebuild. I was able to call Wiseco and order rings for a single piston. My out of pocket was less than $30 shipped. I just had to supply them with the piston ring specs. I filed my on ring gap and accidentally interpreted the .44 mm measurement in .044 inches. Likely won't make that mistake again.
I've got a 93 Mx-6 4cyl boosted on megasquirt with 10.5:1 compression. So far it's quite fun on 7.4psi. Took the old numbers of 103whp/113tq to 196whp and 202tq on a "safe" street tune. Final goals are around 350whp/300+tq on 14psi on pump gas. Unless I get bit by the boost bug more than I have and decide to do methanol injection and shoot for closer to 18/20psi. :)
Thanks for the video's Creg! You inspired me to buy a Miata(MX5 here), first I wanted to turbo it, then I saw a V6 jaguar power miata on Carthrottle and last week I read something about the Honda K24 swap which also makes a lot of power with more reliability then a turbo build. So many choices :)
Sweeeeet! This is a work of art. Great to see a patient and focused builder at work.
Good stuff Greg! Don't sweat the broken ring. Most car projects will always have their hiccups. It's just the nature of the beast.
Love finding videos like this, I was thinking of rebuilding my engine soon too. Didn't even know you needed a tool like this, appreciate the upload! Totally grabbing one asap
I too am enjoying this series. You're very clear and detailed in the steps taken during this build. May I make one suggestion; list a video sequence order number for each video. I'm not sure if I'm watching step 8 then step 5.
I know I have watched a few out of order, still really enjoy the step, but knowing what order number would be a nice addition.
Thanks for all your effort to entertain and inform.
Kendrick
Kendrick Eskelson out of there are a ton of videos I'm definitely thinking about doing that
One lesson I always try to remind myself is, never use crappy tools for an important job!
I think you've learnt that through the course of this video.
Great video, Greg! Ringing an engine, in my opinion, is probably the most difficult part of engine building, aside from making all the initial measurements.
Also, I have the same millionth Miata shirt!
Been there done that. You are right the key is to hammer the sleeve down on the block so that it is completely square. Lay a wood handle of a hammer sideways on the ring compressor and tap. The other key is to not hit too hard. If you are tap tap tapping and it won't move pull it out and reset. It doesn't take a lot of force to punch it in. But, like I said, been there, done that.
hey Greg, shii happens but it is bittersweet when the project keeps moving forward!! keep up the good work!
FYI: if you break a ring : you contact the people whom you ordered your pistons and rings from you can purchase individual rings . you also need a set of plati gauges to check the rod bearing clearance against the crank . but like he says do your research there are a ton of videos , and tools to help you with your build
I think you did a good job and it was a smart move upgrading your ring compressor. Recently I re-ringed my VR6 and I didn't have one for that engine since the cylinders aren't flush with the deck so I had to do it all by hand and used a small flathead screwdriver to help push the rings in lol. Pain in the ass and nerve racking but she's been taking the most abuse ever and is running very well for a VR6.
ALWAYS PUT SOME PROTECTION ON THE END OF YOUR ROD! AND DONT FORGET THE LUBE!
#wearurhelmet
Hey Greg, sorry you had to shell out more dough on your motor but glad you got there in the end. Looking forward to the next update. Good job bro.
7:20 are those piston return springs on the left? :D
Great video! I'm just an amateur car hack myself but I enjoy learning along the way. Can do most stuff on cars without $100,000 worth of tools. Videos like yours are terrific! Thanks! New sub here!
Building engines is the best reason to have a project car. Good thing you spotted the broken ring. I've done worse :)
Same tightening sequence for Main Caps. Torque and loosen, retorque at least three time to breakin threads on studs and nuts for same. Don't get in a hurry. Take your time. Color mark fasteners that have been FINAL torqued.
Just a couple of pointers, on a lot of engines the orientation of the piston in the block is critical, as is the orientation of the rods in the block. V engines that share rod journals especially. Another critical thing is never mix con rod caps, make sure the same cap goes back on the rod it came off of, and NOT 180 degrees from how it came apart.
New Jersey Bill Thanks man 👍 I have covered all of that in previous videos of this build, I try not to repeat the same info over and over. Cheers
Good that it was covered. I could envision someone coming to this video and going " Oh that's how it is done." and wipe an engine. :( Best of luck with the build!!!
New Jersey Bill Yeah I have thought about that as well since this video is getting quite a few more views than my others. I try to regularly tell people that this is not a how-to series, but more of a how-I'm-doing-it series, as I'm not a professional.
One more step closer! It's coming together!!!!
HA! I did the same mistake and broke a piston ring on my BMW build once, same way as you did.. It was forged pistons with rings specially designed for those pistons and it was damn hard to find new rings! Not much help in the company I bought the pistons from, so I had to source them my self through a dodgy French site.. But they arrived and was the exact same as the one's that I had :)
how does the better ring compressor work if there isn't a screw to tighten? is there a gradual slope on the inside of it? just curious
dwang006 Yes it's tapered on the inside 👍
great show for the first timer. please do more and make a video on bearing clearance using plasti gauge. also piston ring finishing ( can't have them burs ) .
i have used one of those crappy adjustable ring compressors.... way inconvenient. we have one at school that uses about 6 different size bands that cover piston sizes in half inch increments and then some pliers that compress the band when you're ready to install. I'll have to look up the model but it was cake. i basically pushed the pistons in by hand (2-stroke boat motor so only 2 compression rings per piston)
Need to go through the tightening sequence at least three times to knock off the rough spots on the rod and rod bolt threads. Should be a stretch spec also. Need to measure untorqued bolt length, mark it down, tighten three times and finally the third time, measure untorqued length, mark it down, tighten to torque, measure length, should have stretched by thousands of an inch. Been through this MANY TIMES!
That ring compressor is fine. I made the same mistake and the reason is because the screw is right where the ring gap was. That small area is not being compressed. I now use the same compressor but I check with a flashlight to make sure.
Adjustable ring compressor's are fine, it is how you use them
Nice video man, just stumbled onto you for the first time. A quick suggestion for you from one creator to another. You should be linking the tool you used in this video. Get an Amazon affiliate and find that tool on Amazon and link it. Or there are other tool companies that will do affiliate linking with you. It's not a ton of money but if you do it right and your not trying to be a tool salesman but just want to bring your subs something of value, then it will work.
ScannerDanner Thanks for the heads up! I'm definitely going to be looking into that.
For sure man. Good providence to you and your channel.
How did you manage to break a ring? I have installed heaps of rings using one of those adjustable ring compressors. You have a tiny chamfer on the top of the bore to guide it into the cylinder so you should never break a ring unless you hit it with a hammer after the ring compressor has lifted and the ring has popped out. Apart from holding the ring compressor down every couple of light taps on the piston I also tap around the whole edge of the ring compressor as well because they can twist and leave one edge up. However you are 100% right in buying a fixed ring compressor they make life so much easier, but again still exercise the same amount of caution as you would using the crap thing. Only draw back to the fixed ring compressor is they only do one size bore.
Dodgy Brothers Well this being my first engine build, it sounds like you're much more experienced. I can't really answer "how" but I know plenty of people have done it. The ring may have even cracked while the machine shop was filing it?
The only reason I have used the crap one so much is because we don't have a Summit down under to just order one like you did, so it is persisting with the crap one even though it has driven me nuts at times, and I've had rings slip out multiple times from it twisting, fortunately I've just never broke or chipped a ring like you did. All things being equal I would opt for the fixed one every time. Those adjustable ones should be used in an emergency only.
I would put money on you chipped it as you were knocking it down (otherwise the piece wouldn't be there) It is real easy to lift just one edge and it pop out, Looks like you tapped the piston after it popped out causing the chip. Also there is no need to hit the last hit any harder than any other taps, they should all be light taps even after you think all the rings are home. Look for a video on ring grinding there is a bit of an art to it.
Good way to file rings is putting them to the designated cylinder bore. Check with gauge that it is evenly deep all around. Then measure the cap with file gauge and adjust according to spec. No need for special tooling imo.
And for the ring compressor. Never leave ring cap in portition of tool where compression happen (where the tightening screw is.) That's a sure way to break your rings.
Great video mate, i would love to do this one day myself I cant wait to see the end product.
Hey Greg! You're an inspiration to me. Only recently did i decide i was going to go to school for my ASE. and 6 months ago i decided im going to buy a miata. In two weeks i get my 1999 Miata, with only 80k miles on it. I was curious, in your opinion, would it be worth it for me to start by turboing the miata, or first go for a Stroker kit with forged internals, then eventually turbo it. also if anyone else would like to provide their insight, i'd be willing to answer. Thanks! Also is it a downside to have a 6spd miata?
That depends heavily on your budget. I would highly recommend just spending $3000-$4000 on a quality turbo setup for the stock engine and see how you like it. For the price of building a stoker BP you could just as easily do a K swap and have even more power. The only real downside to the 6-speed is the gear ratios are very close so it's not optimal for turbo cars with wide powerbands.
Hey! Thanks for the response :) I got the car for an absolute steal, and today i just actually found out it is a 10th anniversary edition miata with the LSD and some cool other specialties. My budget is exactly $4700, and I would like to put a good amount of that into the turbo setup, But I would also like to upgrade other things on the car. What would you recommend getting for the vehicle? Also, I'm looking to daily drive on low boost, but enough to give the car an extra kick if that makes sense.
I appreciate any help you can offer! Thanks again! Love the vids man
Thanks for the advice, Riis! I'll have to look into those. I appreciate it mate!
3 to 4k dollars seems to be a very expensive investment for a 1999 Mazda Miata. but I wish you well in your endeavor...good luck.
rayford21 Think about it this way: Nice clean Miata for $4000, quality/reliable turbo system for $4000. Now you've got a 2300lb car with 240whp for $8000. How many cars are going to be able to out perform it for the same cost? :)
Greg... be glad you're not building a rotary... I got to the point where I was supposed to superglue the apex seals to the apex corner seals and just about lost it... (true story)... Good luck with that bad boy
can't wait for the finished product!
Great tip on the ring compressor G. Thanks!!
Ugh, that cheap ring compressor is the worst. That was seriously the most sketchy part of rebuilding my jz... it always wanted to walk around and was a pita to tighten. Sharper than hell as well! What did they get you for on the solid style?
One small thing. Greg said there are no such thing as stupid questions. And before you guys go ask questions on the forums. SEARCH. If you ask a question on some forums that had been covered many times before, you will get blasted and/or banned depending on how nice they are feeling that day. So please, just use the search tool before cluttering up forums with repetitive questions. Its all there, just gotta do some digging.
Search n00b
Aidan Daly-Jensen what turbo should I get for my miata? Thx
you must be a lazy forum mod, a forum is a community driven by individuals on all sides and their willingness to spread information. so if something gets asked daily... MAKE A STICKY. ADD TO THE HOW-TO SECTION or whatever your forums 'in your face' info section is. your mentality is piss poor for a forum and you should stay away from them if "search" is an acceptable response to you.
Fuck off. I can troll my friends however I want.
you don't get it do you? Im saying the stickies are already there, everything is right in front of them. But they don't even read that info.
Greg, watching these vids makes me want to buy a first gen Miata bad!
So the fixed piston ring compressor is tapered inside, yes? Nice tool, how much did it cost?
Still, easily my favorite Miata channel.
Great video again and thanks for showing us your mistake so we can learn from it! Good luck with the build! 👍
Cute gloves and fancy artwork on the assembly lube.
Ben Upde Did this video get shared on an engine builder elitist page or something? So many haters LOL
ouch....but you sis the right thing in getting the solid compressor. good job
You deserve more views man. Great job
I find the best way to drop in pistons with new rings: let your nails grow for a week, then use oil on cylinder walls and piston&rings, then only use your fingers/nails and drop one ring at the time. works well, the oil ring is the trickiest. :)
you should have set up the spring compressor first before dropping the piston in the block. That is why you are not able to tighten the spring compressor properly making the ring popout. you also do not have to hit the piston that hard to drop it in. the slightest resistance should tell you that there is something stuck..
Looking to forge my 1.8 on my mx5 I've change things like brakes, bleeding, suspension, cam angle sensor etc etc.
Just wondering excatly how hard is it to forge your own engine it's something I've always wanted to do and try out but being a first time it's a job which scares me tbh? But something I wanna do to test myself with to say this car is all built by me alone
At least you didn't install your pistons backwards.....
Or have to make 69 fast food runs to find straws ;)
You should say that the ring end gap has to be in spec (info is in manual if stock or is provided with piston if custom) and the rings have to be "rotated", so the ring gaps on single piston are at certain angle to each other.
MindBlowerWTF Yes I covered gapping in the last build video
Take your time Greg, we'll be here for the next video!
Do it wrong once, then you've learned it for a lifetime! 😛
LOVING CPC VVT VIDEOS!!!!!
Was just gong to say that fixed ring compressor much easier....even if you are experienced. Good advice!
Hey Greg! not sure if this was covered elsehwere, but why did you go with ARP rod bolts instead of a stud kit? do they not make studs for this engine? Price or availability? I'll be doing a build on my 1.8 turbo at some point and wanna make sure Im headed in the right direction.
That was how they came with the Manley rods, I didn't even know people swapped them out to a stud style kit
did you check the ring gap ?
you put them in the engine bore without the piston. and you check with feeler gauges to get a certain tolerance
Yes I did in the previous video :)
I've been using the "lame" type of ring compressor and it works fine.
Keep kicking ass bro.
Is your VVT miata with LSD? If yes maybe weld it? I know that it maybe be drag and track car, but 100% didn't disturb anyone, also it doesn't slide that much if suspension are adjusted for track days and especially with good tires
Gedas alekveravičius I have a Torsen LSD :)
Nice vid, quick question: what has been your experience with the strength of the stock 1.6 diff? What can it handle it terms of horsepower. I have been looking for a miata in my area and there are a lot more clean 1.6s than 1.8s, and was wondering if it was worth holding out for a 1.8 in terms of the strength of the diff. Thanks.
brandoGTR48 The consensus is around 200wtq you're pushing your luck. I ran more than that for a good while, even with some autocross and drag, and never broke it. I did eventually swap out to a 3.9 from a 2002 Miata
Thanks, you can research all you want but it won't ever compare to hearing from someone with real personal experience.
nice chuki beats too lol
Great video, and yes adjustable ring compressor are terrible.... Use only fixed diamater ones, also I didn't see you use plasti gauge for oil clearance? If you don't have plasti gauge handy a bore gauge is also perfect :)
Any input on rod torquing method Greg?? Did you calculate or verify rod bolt stretch?
How did you put the piston into new tool? How did you compress the rings? Or is it conical? Thanks
You are the man Greg
What engine is this ?? Good vid man !!
Hey Greg if you would go back wouldn’t it be easier to bore out a 94 miata block that has the turbo return line on the side of the block?
Pavel Kirkov I wouldn't spend time sourcing an entirely different year block just so I didn't have to add a $15 fitting for the oil feed. Just me though
Just one thing, You should be able to install the piston with that tool by hand, no hammer or taps needed, tapping is a bad practice, if you need to tap something is wrong.
Hey Greg, quick question about the rod bolts torque, you said 60ftlbs and the ARP datasheey says 38ftlbs.... what do you think ? thanks !
Elior Zeno I agree. 60 ftlbs is too much.
ARP sells badass tapered ring compressors. i pushed my pistons in with my thumbs
rstormzand Same with the Wiseco compressor, so easy to use
TheCarPassionChannel i shouldve finished the video before commenting lol oops
Didn't check bearing to crank, or ring gap clearances?
And you ALWAYS rotate the crank, so the cylindar you are working on, the journal is furthest away from it. So you have more room to slide in the piston, without the conrod hitting the crank.
+mtktm yes everything was checked both by the machine shop and by myself in previous videos
TheCarPassionChannel wish I had checked my clearances. Shops made a mistake and after only 150 miles spun a rod bearing. All torn down again and having the cranked turned and polished. It ran sweet before that though😥. Keep the vids coming. Helps me stay motivated.
Give the piston one good hit with the end of the mallet handle, no need for the 10 light taps.
such an awesome video mate, learned alot
damn man that sucks you broke a ring :/ but hell yea on the new compressor! they work very well
I got that same ring compressor the first 1, I didn't break any rings.
I'm literally wearing the Miata celebration millionth Miata shirt too. Crazy
why did you end up using the Supertech valve stem seals over the oem once ?
How do you know what size pistons to get. I plan on taking my motor to the machine shop first to be honest and cleaned and I don’t wanna by the wrong pistons due to machine shop boring
Your block has to be bored to the pistons that you supply the machine shop with. They will measure the pistons and then bore the block
lube the cylinder not the piston, last thing you want is oil in the compression rings that gets burned in on fire up. the oil rings will wipe all the oil off cylinder as it goes down. Rings DO NOT NEED OIL. If you oil the rings you run the risk of hurting break in
hi Greg! lovin your video's, your video's persuaded me to turbo my 5 😊.
I've seen you use a red type of grease, i was wondering what type of grease it Is?
Redline Engine Assembly Lube
When I rebuild, lightly tap the compressor to the block. so it sits hella flush
how do you put the piston into the weisco spring compressor? arnt you put into the same place where you need something to put it into the compressor? may be a stupid question but im not sure as to what happens here
See 8:25 the sleeve is tapered. it's about 90+mm at the top and 84mm at the bottom.
TheCarPassionChannel thanks I missed that when watching, appreciate it
5:17 i have a question, why does the sun shine during daytime, and not at night , at night the sun would be handy because its dark