Lay out the new pistons and rings with the connecting rods so that the clearance check between the ends of the rings will be carried out on those pistons and in those cylinders where these rings will be installed.
Insert the top (No. 1) ring into the first cylinder and position it perpendicular to the walls, pushing it with the piston. The ring should be positioned near the bottom of the cylinder, near the extreme point of the ring travel.
To measure the gap between the ends of the rings, insert feeler gauges of different thicknesses into the gap until you find a feeler gauge equal to the width of the gap. The feeler gauge should slide between the ends of the ring with a slight effort. Compare the resulting gap value with the technical data. If the gap is larger or smaller than the norm, check again whether you have taken the correct ring size.
If the gap is too small, it must be increased, otherwise the ends of the rings may touch each other when the engine is running, which can cause serious damage. The gap can be increased by carefully filing the ends of the rings with a fine file. Clamp the file in a vice and slowly slide the ends of the rings over the file so that the metal is removed from the outside in. Filing is done at a right angle and all burrs must be removed before assembly.
Repeat the above procedure for all remaining rings.
After checking the clearance between the ends of the rings, the rings can be installed on the pistons. Usually the oil scraper ring is installed first (the very bottom). It usually consists of three separate components. Insert the expander into the groove.
If an anti-rotation tab is used, insert it into the hole drilled in the groove. Next, insert the lower erasing edge.
Do not use ring installers on oil scraper ring wiper lips as the lips may break. Insert one end of the wiper lip into the groove between the expander and the groove wall, hold it firmly in place and slide the end around the piston to push the lip into the groove. Then insert the upper wiper lip in the same manner.
After all three parts of the oil control ring are installed, make sure the upper and lower wiper edges rotate freely in the groove.
Next, ring #2 (the middle one) is installed. It usually has a stamped mark (TOP) on it, which should be facing up,
Note: Do not confuse the top and middle rings - they have different cross-sections.
Location of piston rings
Use a ring installer and make sure the mark (arrow) is facing up, then insert the ring into the middle groove of the piston. Do not stretch the ring more than necessary to allow the piston to pass through it.
Install the top (#1) ring in the same way. Make sure the mark is facing up.
Repeat the above operations for all pistons and rings.