Hey everybody!

Maybe somebody can help. My wife has a 1998 acura integra LS 1.8 b18 motor. Her number 3 piston rings are gone from what the mechanic who did the check. I was wondering if a do-it-yourselfer (myself) can manage the work? I have limited experience doing inside eingine work, let alone overhauling an engine, but could reading a manual and following directions solve the $1,500 issue? Please help! Thank you!!

 

I would say NO...It will be trouble enought taking off the the head and putting it back together..Let alone changing the rings...

 

cool thanks for heads up - was trying to see if i could get around the $1,500 - but alas...

 

what come on what kinda encourage ment is that.

taking a head on and replacing it is easy. IU have to admit replacing piston rings are hard, i never done it before but from the look of things i would get me helms manual and do it my self. (well stripping the most of it and taking it somewhere)

I would say if u have a friend that knows what he's doing make it a project and learn something. Im not saying to replace the rings ur self. atleast take the head off,, tranny, mounts and take the bottom end to be fixed and assemble it back to getther. it wont be that expense. Its all up to u though

 

thats alot of money to fix some piston rings. i would try to do it myself. but first read read and read some more on how to do it.
http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto.php has some good info. u do need the right tools to do this job though: piston ring compressor, ring expander tool (dont know the name of the tool, but u need it to get the compression rings around the piston), torque wrench, etc. ur gonna have to pull the head and the oil pan to install the rings. plus u need to hone the block so the new rings will seat well in the cylinders. i cant imagine myself paying so much money to do that job. im glad i have a friend who owns a shop

 

Out of all honesty i would just pull the motor and take the head off. After taking the head off i would drop that **** off at a reputable shop. Reason why i would drop it off is because a lot of measurments have to be done and you dont wanna mess up and pay later for your errors. I believe you will be spending around 500-600 bucks for the labor of installing new pistons, rings (might as well replace them since your in there already), boring (if needed), honeing, etc. However if you feel confident in your abilities then by all means go for it. You should ask other H-Ters if there is a good shop around your area if you are not gonna build the motor yourself. Seeign that your in CA you have a damn good number of them around. good luck man.