Does anyone know where to get these?

I know some guys use torches, and others even have rod heaters but I'd prefer to use my press to do pistons.


-- Joe

 

cant you just toss them in the oven for 20 minutes, then use a piece of wood and your press?

 

Don't have an oven in the shop, and by the time I went from the house to the shop they would be cool.

I really want to get the right fixture so I can do it like the dealer does.

-- Joe

 

I have a tool like that but is more advanced and does not have the issues there having.

Does not get used much as most of my builds are floaters.

 

Where did you get it?

-- Joe

 

I think I bought mine through MAC tolls about 30 years ago. seems to work fine.

 

As mentioned in the video, if you need to keep the pistons then you need some sort of jig to hold the con rod while pressing out the wrist pins. If you're not keeping the pistons then it doesn't matter. Place the piston right on the press and push out the pin.

When installing wrist pins however, the rod needs to be heated so the small end will expand to allow the wrist pin to slide through it. If you try pressing in a wrist pin cold, you will probably damage the piston.

Floating pistons is the best way to do it. No special tools required other than a small screwdriver.

For the cost of tooling, time and effort to press in and out wrist pins, it can probably be cheaper to just have a machine shop do it.

 

The machine shop uses the Sunnen rod heater, but the few dealers I spoke with said they use the press with the fixture to put pistons on and off rods. Nobody seemed to know where they got the fixture though.

The idea is the fixture holds the ROD, so no pressure is placed on the piston at all.

I've got lots of "X" rods and forged pistons lying around that I'd like to use eventually. The local machine shop isn't local, and gets $25 per rod to do the job.

-- Joe