What are piston rings, and why does it cost $1800 to replace them?

Answer 1

They seal the pistons... and they cost $1800 because the job is labor intensive and your mechanic needs to replace his central air.

Answer 2

In short, piston rings are steel rings around each piston head that "seals" the combustion chamber of each cylinder ( to allow for compression of gas prior to ignition, an effective power stroke upon combustion and, expulsion of exhaust gases after combustion ) without piston rings, there would be no seal and no compression. Worn, broken or missing piston rings create a number of problems such as gas in the oil, low power, or no power at all. The reason that it is so expensive to replace these piston rings ( and honestly, $1800 isn't THAT expensive ), is because pretty much the entire engine must be disassembled to remove the pistons to replace the rings. Additionally, the cylinders must be honed to give a fresh surface for the new piston rings to seat and, new rod bearings will surely be installed as well. This says nothing about the gaskets ( which will vary depending on your particular vehicle ) which will also have to be replaced to reassemble the engine and, are expensive too, ( about $250 - $350 for a head gasket set for a V-6 engine ).

If you know that you need piston rings replaced and are getting it done for $1800, I'd say thats a deal ! Maybe not to you ( since you're looking at having to pay the bill ) but, there IS alot of work involved in the repair.

Answer 3

Piston rings are NOT expensive! They are only split rings of metal that sit an a groove around the top circumference of a piston. They are there to seal the piston so the combustion forces do not blow by the piston; instead, they push the piston down to make power to go!

So where does the cost come from? Well, in the smallest four cylinder engine you will have four pistons... each with it's own ring SET. A set typically consists of two seal rings and one oiler ring. A 6 cylinder will have six sets and a V8 will have 8. You get the drift. So, if a ringset costs $15 you can multiply that by 4,6,8 or whatever the number of cylinders you have. They generally sell these in sets for the whole engine.

Ok, we are up to $60, $90, and $120 for a 4, 6, or 8 respectively. Still way shy of $1800... what gives?

Hang on... it gets much more expensive because the engine has to come apart to get the pistons out! The cylinder head(s) must be removed since the pistons come out from the top... the oil pan must be removed because the piston rods come out with the pistons and must be unbolted from the crankshaft via the bottom of the engine and the engine will have to be lifted just to make room to lower or remove the oil pan! Each piston is then measured and each piston bore is measured to ensure a proper fit on reassembly. Machine work on both the block and the head may be needed. A whole engine gasket set will be needed as well. Labor is intenive and the vehicle will remain in the shop for almost a week. Three days if they are devoting all their time to one car. The shop will probably remove the engine entirely so they can easily perform the work on it and then reinstall it. Not cheap.

I hope this gets a little information to you about why the cost is so high to replace these rings and why it is so important to keep changing your oil on regular intervals so the original rings can last as long as possible!

Good luck!

Answer 4

Ls1 Piston Rings

Answer 5

First, piston rings are the rings that go on/around the pistons that control compression and oil control. Second, to have them replaced essentially means to have the engine totally rebuilt. You must remove the head and have the valves serviced, pull the connecting rod caps and bearings and replace the bearings, replace the rings(if the cylanders and pistons still are within tolerances), replace all components and new gaskets, start and tune. That is the shortened version of the process, and that is why it costs $1800.

Answer 6

Dude replacing the piston rings in your engine is not a small job! As a rough guide you will need the following parts:- Complete set of gaskets £150 Timing belt kit £100 Piston rings £90 Additional to this you may require the following:- Pistons £120 Re-bore £100 All this plus the labour to do the work. If the car is an early model Focus it would be cheaper to replace the engine with either a service exchange engine or an engine from a scrap yard. Ja.

Answer 7

The rings go onto your pistons to help create compression so that the pistons are not sliding against the cylinder walls and wearing the aluminum
The rings are made of hardened steel
The reason it is so expensive is cause the engine has to be torn completely apart
You have to replace the rod and main bearings,all the gaskets, and so on
It is pretty close to a complete overhaul to replace the rings.

Answer 8

piston rings are the little gizmos that fit on the pistons and seal the combustion gases in the cylinder so that the force of combustion pushes the piston down on the compression stroke if they wear out your engine will lose power and burn oil they are expensive to replace be cause replacement requires a complete overhaul of the engine

Answer 9

They keep oil from getting into your combustion chamber and they aren't at all easy to get to or replace. You pretty much have to take the engine almost completely apart just to get to them then you have to get them off of the piston heads and get the new ones in place (not easy) and then you have to put the whole engine back together. They are necessary if you want to keep your cylinders lubricated without letting a bunch of oil get into the combustion chamber which would make lots of smoke come out your exhaust.

Answer 10

You didn't say what kind of vehicle you have if its a GM you can go to any Chevy dealership that sells brand new Goodwrench engines and you can purchase a brand new stock crate 350 cid engine between 1100 to 1400 dollers then all you need is a good relible mechanic to install it I know because I bought one a couple of years ago for 1100 dollars and installed in my corvette. Buy the way i'm a retired professional mechanic after 45 years in the field, and I forgot to say I couldn't rebuild my old engine for 1100 dollars and do it right. Good Luck Ron