Pietenpol-List: Continental Overhaul (piston placement)
Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 7:03 am
Original Posted By: Michael D Cuy
I'm reassembling my Continental A-80, destined for a stab on the firewall of myPietenpol project. I've rebuilt VW engines, a Lycoming 0-320 where it is criticalthat the pistons are "aligned" the correct way on the wrist pin. (Sorry I'mnot being clear... only had 1/2 a cup of my morning coffee...) I learned thislesson the hard way many, many years ago when a friend put one of his pistonsin wrong on a VW dune buggy. The piston made a bad clatter, but my friend pulledthe jug, rotated the piston 180 degrees and the engine ran fine afterwards.The Continental manual states, "Install piston with the numbers towards the frontof the engine." Pistons on the VW and especially my Lycoming were marked verywell so that correct orientation was easily obtained, but the numbers on theContinental piston are on both inside walls of the top and bottom skirt. Thereis one very tiny circular stamp with a faint "10" on the top of the pistonheads, and am I to assume this is the number that "goes forward?" This "circle"is placed directly over where one of the piston wrist pin plugs is located.(I can e-mail a picture of this "circle" on top of the piston if anybody is interested...)Thanks,Sterling BrooksCentral Texas________________________________________________________________________________Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 08:19:44 -0400
I'm reassembling my Continental A-80, destined for a stab on the firewall of myPietenpol project. I've rebuilt VW engines, a Lycoming 0-320 where it is criticalthat the pistons are "aligned" the correct way on the wrist pin. (Sorry I'mnot being clear... only had 1/2 a cup of my morning coffee...) I learned thislesson the hard way many, many years ago when a friend put one of his pistonsin wrong on a VW dune buggy. The piston made a bad clatter, but my friend pulledthe jug, rotated the piston 180 degrees and the engine ran fine afterwards.The Continental manual states, "Install piston with the numbers towards the frontof the engine." Pistons on the VW and especially my Lycoming were marked verywell so that correct orientation was easily obtained, but the numbers on theContinental piston are on both inside walls of the top and bottom skirt. Thereis one very tiny circular stamp with a faint "10" on the top of the pistonheads, and am I to assume this is the number that "goes forward?" This "circle"is placed directly over where one of the piston wrist pin plugs is located.(I can e-mail a picture of this "circle" on top of the piston if anybody is interested...)Thanks,Sterling BrooksCentral Texas________________________________________________________________________________Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 08:19:44 -0400