1.6
Piston and Piston Rings
DETROIT DIESEL 53
3. Remove the carbon from the upper inner surface of
the cylinder liner.
4. If there is a ridge in the cylinder liner at the top of the
piston ring travel, remove the ridge with a ridge cutter.
NOTE: Move the piston to the bottom of
its travel and place a cloth on top of the
piston to collect the cuttings.
5. After the ridge is removed, turn the crankshaft until
the piston is at the top of its stroke and carefully remove
the cloth with the cuttings.
6. Refer to Figs. I and 2 in Section 1.6.1, and remove
the bearing cap and the lower bearing shell from the
lower end of the connecting rod; then push the piston
and rod assembly out through the top of the cylinder
block. The piston and rod cannot be removed from the
bottom of the block.
7. Reassemble the bearing cap and the bearing shell to
the connecting rod.
Disassemble Piston and Connecting Rod
1. Secure the connecting rod in a vise equipped with
Fig. 2. - Removing or Installing Piston Ring
soft jaws and remove the piston rings with tool J 8128 as
shown in Fig. 2.
Remove Piston and Connecting Rod
2. Punch a hole through the center of one of the piston
1. Drain the lubricating system and remove the oil pan.
pin retainers with a narrow chisel or punch and pry the
retainer from the piston, being careful not to damage the
2. Remove the cylinder head as outlined in Section 1.2.
piston or bushings.
3. Withdraw the piston pin from the piston, thus freeing
the connecting rod.
4. The other piston pin retainer may be driven out from
the inside, using a brass rod or other suitable tool.
Clean Piston
Clean the piston with fuel oil and dry it with compressed
air. If fuel oil will not remove the carbon deposits, use a
chemical solvent that will not attack the piston pin
bushings or the tin coating on the piston (Fig. 3).
The upper part of the piston, including the ring lands and
grooves, is not coated with tin and may be wirebrushed
Fig. 3. - Cleaning Piston
to remove any hard carbon. However, use care to avoid
damage to the tin, coating on the piston skirt.
Clean the ring grooves with a suitable tool or a piece of
an old piston ring that has been ground to a bevel edge.
1972 General Motors Corp.
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