Dodge dakota 2002 Service Manual page 1511

9 - 262 ENGINE - 5.9L
PISTON & CONNECTING ROD (Continued)
(3) Immerse the piston head and rings in clean
engine oil. Slide Piston Ring Compressor Tool C-385
over the piston and tighten with the special wrench
(part of Tool C-385). Be sure position of rings
does not change during this operation.
(4) Install connecting rod bolt protectors on rod
bolts. The long protector should be installed on the
numbered side of the connecting rod.
(5) Rotate crankshaft so that the connecting rod
journal is on the center of the cylinder bore. Be sure
connecting rod and cylinder bore number are the
same. Insert rod and piston into cylinder bore and
guide rod over the crankshaft journal.
(6) Tap the piston down in cylinder bore, using a
hammer handle. At the same time, guide connecting
rod into position on crankshaft journal.
(7) The notch, or groove, on top of piston must be
pointing toward front of engine. The larger chamfer
of the connecting rod bore must be installed toward
crankshaft journal fillet.
(8) Install rod caps. Be sure connecting rod, con-
necting rod cap, and cylinder bore number are the
same. Install nuts on cleaned and oiled rod bolts and
tighten nuts to 61 N·m (45 ft. lbs.) torque.
(9) Install the oil pan (Refer to 9 - ENGINE/LU-
BRICATION/OIL PAN - INSTALLATION).
(10) Install the cylinder head (Refer to 9 -
ENGINE/CYLINDER HEAD - INSTALLATION).
(11) Install the engine into the vehicle (Refer to 9 -
ENGINE - INSTALLATION).
PISTON RINGS
STANDARD PROCEDURE - PISTON RING
FITTING
(1) Measurement of end gaps:
(a) Measure piston ring gap 2 in. from bottom of
cylinder bore. An inverted piston can be used to
push the rings down to ensure positioning rings
squarely in the cylinder bore before measuring.
(b) Insert feeler gauge in the gap. The top com-
pression ring gap should be between 0.254-0.508
mm (0.010-0.020 in.). The second compression ring
gap should be
(0.020-0.030 in.). The oil ring gap should be 0.254-
1.270 mm (0.010-0.050 in.).
(c) Rings with insufficient end gap may be prop-
erly filed to the correct dimension. Rings with
excess gaps should not be used.
(2) Install rings, and confirm ring side clearance:
(a) Install oil rings being careful not to nick or
scratch the piston. Install the oil control rings accord-
ing to instructions in the package. It is not necessary
to use a tool to install the upper and lower rails.
Insert oil rail spacer first, then side rails.
between 0.508-0.762
(b) Install the second compression rings using
Installation Tool C-4184. The compression rings
must be installed with the identification mark face
up (toward top of piston) and chamfer facing down.
An identification mark on the ring is a drill point,
a stamped letter "O", an oval depression, or the
word "TOP" (Fig. 40) (Fig. 42).
(c) Using a ring installer, install the top com-
pression ring with the chamfer facing up (Fig. 41)
(Fig. 42). An identification mark on the ring is a
drill point, a stamped letter "O", an oval depression
or the word "TOP" facing up.
(d) Measure side clearance between piston ring
and ring land. Clearance should be 0.074-0.097 mm
(0.0029-0.0038 in.) for the compression rings. The
steel rail oil ring should be free in groove, but should
not exceed 0.246 mm (0.0097 in.) side clearance.
(e) Pistons with insufficient, or excessive, side
clearance should be replaced.
Fig. 40 Second Compression Ring Identification
1 - SECOND COMPRESSION RING (BLACK CAST IRON)
2 - CHAMFER
3 - TWO DOTS
mm
Fig. 41 Top Compression Ring Identification (Typical)
1 - TOP COMPRESSION RING (GRAY IN COLOR)
2 - CHAMFER
3 - ONE DOT
(3) Orient the rings:
(a) Arrange top compression ring 90° counter-
clockwise from the oil ring rail gap (Fig. 43).
(Typical)
DR