Dodge 2000 DURANGO Service Manual page 534

DN
SERVICE PROCEDURES (Continued)
NOTE: Piston rings are installed in the following
order:
• Oil ring expander.
• Upper oil ring side rail.
• Lower oil ring side rail.
• No. 2 Intermediate piston ring.
• No. 1 Upper piston ring.
(8) Install the oil ring expander.
(9) Install upper side rail (Fig. 22) by placing one
end between the piston ring groove and the expander
ring. Hold end firmly and press down the portion to
be installed until side rail is in position. Repeat this
step for the lower side rail.
(10) Install No. 2 intermediate piston ring using a
piston ring installer (Fig. 23).
(11) Install No. 1 upper piston ring using a piston
ring installer (Fig. 23).
(12) Position piston ring end gaps as shown in
(Fig. 24). It is important that expander ring gap is at
least 45° from the side rail gaps, but not on the pis-
ton pin center or on the thrust direction.
Fig. 22 Side Rail—Installation
1 – SIDE RAIL END
CONNECTING ROD BEARINGS—FITTING
Inspect the connecting rod bearings for scoring and
bent alignment tabs (Fig. 25) (Fig. 26). Check the
bearings for normal wear patterns, scoring, grooving,
fatigue and pitting (Fig. 27). Replace any bearing
that shows abnormal wear.
Inspect the connecting rod journals for signs of
scoring, nicks and burrs.
Misaligned or bent connecting rods can cause
abnormal wear on pistons, piston rings, cylinder
walls, connecting rod bearings and crankshaft con-
necting rod journals. If wear patterns or damage to
any of these components indicate the probability of a
misaligned connecting rod, inspect it for correct rod
Fig. 23 Upper and Intermediate Rings—Installation
Fig. 24 Piston Ring End Gap Position
1 – SIDE RAIL UPPER
2 – NO. 1 RING GAP
3 – PISTON PIN
4 – SIDE RAIL LOWER
5 – NO. 2 RING GAP AND SPACER EXPANDER GAP
alignment. Replace misaligned, bent or twisted con-
necting rods.
(1) Wipe the oil from the connecting rod journal.
(2) Lubricate the upper bearing insert and install
in connecting rod.
(3) Use piston ring compressor and Guide Pins
Special Tool 8507 (Fig. 28) to install the rod and pis-
ton assemblies. The oil slinger slots in the rods must
face front of the engine. The "F"'s near the piston
wrist pin bore should point to the front of the engine.
(4) Install the lower bearing insert in the bearing
cap. The lower insert must be dry. Place strip of Plas-
tigage across full width of the lower insert at the cen-
ter of bearing cap. Plastigage must not crumble in
use. If brittle, obtain fresh stock.
4.7L ENGINE 9 - 25