Piston, Ring, Pin, and Connecting Rod Removal and Installation (1.5 L Engine): Removal

Crankshaft - Remove
Oil Jet - Remove

Metal or Hard Carbon - Remove

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1. If you can feel a ridge of metal or hard carbon around the top of each cylinder, remove it with a ridge reamer (A). Follow the reamer manufacturer's instructions. If the ridge is not removed, it may damage the piston as it is pushed out.

Piston/Connecting Rod Assembly - Remove

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1. Use the wooden handle of a hammer (A) to drive out the piston/connecting rod assembly (B). Take care not to damage the cylinder with the connecting rod.

2. Reinstall the connecting rod bearings and caps after removing each piston/connecting rod assembly.

NOTE:

Mark each piston/connecting rod assembly with its cylinder number to make sure they are reinstalled in the original order.
The existing number on the connecting rod does not indicate its position in the engine, it indicates the rod bore size.

Piston Ring End Gap - Inspect

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1. Using a ring expander (A), remove the old piston rings (B).

2. Clean all ring grooves thoroughly with a squared-off broken ring or a ring groove cleaner with a blade to fit the piston grooves. The top ring groove is 1.2 mm (0.047 in) wide. The second ring groove is 1.0 mm (0.039 in) wide. The oil ring groove is 2.0 mm (0.079 in) wide. File down a blade if necessary. Do not use a wire brush to clean the ring grooves, or cut the ring grooves deeper with the cleaning tools.

NOTE: If the piston is to be separated from the connecting rod, do not install new rings yet.

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3. Using a piston that has its rings removed, push a new ring (A) into the cylinder bore 15-20 mm (0.59-0.79 in) from the bottom.

4. Measure the piston ring end-gap (B) with a feeler gauge:

If the gap is too small, check to see if you have the proper rings for your engine.
If the gap is too large, recheck the cylinder bore diameter against the wear limits . If the bore is beyond the service limit, the engine block must be rebored.

Oil Ring:
Standard (New):	0.20-0.50 mm (0.008-0.019 in)
Service Limit:	0.80 mm (0.031 in)

Second Ring:
Standard (New):	0.25-0.37 mm (0.010-0.014 in)
Service Limit:	0.60 mm (0.023 in)

Piston Ring End-Gap
Top Ring:
Standard (New):	0.15-0.20 mm (0.006-0.007 in)
Service Limit:	0.55 mm (0.021 in)

Piston Pin - Remove

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1. Apply new engine oil to the snap rings (A), and turn them in the ring grooves until the end gaps are lined up with the cutouts in the piston pin bores (B).
NOTE: Take care not to damage the ring grooves.

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2. Remove the snap rings (A) from both sides of each piston. Start at the cutout in the piston pin bore. Remove the snap rings carefully so they do not go flying or get lost. Wear eye protection.

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3. Heat the piston and connecting rod assembly to about 158 deg.F (70 deg.C).

4. Remove the piston pin.

Piston Pin - Inspect

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1. Measure the diameter of the piston pin.

Service Limit:

19.960 mm (0.78583 in)

Piston Pin Diameter
Standard (New):	19.960-19.964 mm (0.78583-0.78598 in)

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2. Zero the dial indicator (A) to the piston pin diameter.

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3. Check the difference between the piston pin diameter and the piston pin hole diameter in the piston.

Piston Pin-to-Piston Clearance
Standard (New):	-0.004-0.003 mm (-0.00016-0.00012 in)
Service Limit:	0.006 mm (0.00024 in)

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4. Measure the piston pin-to-connecting rod clearance.

Service Limit:

0.020 mm (0.00079 in)

Piston Pin-to-Connecting Rod Clearance
Standard (New):	0.004-0.016 mm (0.00016-0.00063 in)