Removed a cylinder with a broken ring compressor in Mesa, took 4 hours of swearing

The cheaper compressor bent on the second ring and I had to rig it with a hose clamp and prayer. Got it seated but it scratched the piston skirt, so now I'm ordering a proper $80 one. Anyone else had a field fix that turned into a parts nightmare?

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1 Comment

sethc1217d ago

Think about what happened with that hose clamp for a second. I get being in a bind and needing to make it work, but clamping a compressor that's already bent is just asking for trouble. The real issue is you probably didn't check the ring gap before you started, or the cylinder walls were still a little wet with oil from the old rings. That second ring catches on the lip and folds over every time. You're lucky you only scratched the skirt and didn't chunk the piston or score the bore worse. I've done the same thing once on an old tractor, ended up pulling the whole engine out again a week later. Next time, lube the rings heavy and use a proper taper tool, it saves you hours of cussing and a hundred bucks in parts.