Piston Ring Compressor
If you like to rebuild engines or even service your worn out engine you will probably need a piston ring compressor. If you don't do any of this sort of work or you haven't in the past you may have never even heard of a piston ring compressor in the past. A compressor is used to allow the piston with the rings to be placed within the cylinder without breaking the rings or damaging the piston in any way. There are many things that you will want to consider when buying a piston ring compressor to be certain that you are going to be able to use the compressor as you wish.
If you will only be using a piston ring compressor for one engine than chances are you can buy a very simple unit. When you begin looking at compressors of this nature you will find that they come in a variety of diameters, for specific sized pistons. In some instances you will find that the compressor can only be used on one size piston, so you have to be certain that you buy the right size. If you buy a piston ring compress set or kit you will find that there are many different bands that you can place on the tool, allowing you to work with many different size pistons. So, when you are shopping be sure not to buy unless you are sure that the piston ring compressor of your choice will fit the size pistons that you are currently working with, as well as any that you may work with in the future.
Another thing to consider is quality. You may be able to buy a piston ring compressor for just $4 or $5 but it may break easily when you tighten the pressure on it. If you are going to need to use the compressor more than once or you want to be sure that it is not going to break before you get the piston installed in the cylinder in one vehicle, you may want to spend a bit more for a higher quality tool.
Should you buy a kit or a single size compressor? As mentioned above, when you buy a kit you are going to have more versatility. If you are going to install pistons more than once it is a good idea to buy a kit. This isn't going to run you much more than you would spend on the single size piston ring compressor and you'll have options in the future. If you do this sort of thing on a regular basis it will allow you to consolidate your tools so that you just have one compressor for all of the vehicles that you work on. This will make space in the tool box for more fun tools.
Price. You can spend as little or as much as you want on a piston ring compressor. The small engine compressors are very affordable while the larger engine compressors run a bit more. Overall, piston ring compressors are very affordable. Even if you buy one of the better quality sets you can spend as little as $30. Of course, you can spend even more if you want to. The idea is to shop around and ensure that you get as much as you need for the best price.
As you can see, there are some things that you should consider before you go out and buy a piston ring compressor. Luckily, most of the models out today are very easy to use and will make inserting the piston easier than you ever thought possible. You can pick up a piston ring compressor at your local auto shop or you can order them online.
