While we do have a hydrolic press, is it worth the bother to get some dry ice when Im ready to press the pins into my new pistons?

Dry ice make cool halloween effects. The leftovers probably won't keep till next halloween however.

Do you have a suitable holder for backing up the piston when pressing in the piston? If so either method shoud work. With either method you should also heat the connecting rod end with a propane torch to aid assembly.

quote Originally posted by phonedawgz: Dry ice make cool halloween effects. The leftovers probably won't keep till next halloween however. Do you have a suitable holder for backing up the piston when pressing in the piston? If so either method shoud work. With either method you should also heat the connecting rod end with a propane torch to aid assembly.

Thanks
I plan to use a wrench socket slightly bigger than the pin diamitor when pressing the pin in, it worked fine for removing them.

I put the pistons in the oven and bake them at 250 degrees for 30 minutes and they're relatively easy to put in. The same with harmonic balancers but you have to be careful to not go above 250 with harmonic balancers because the damping material will melt. Do this when your wife is grocery shopping otherwise, they get upset. Women!

I watched the guy in the machine shop do a few sets. he "layed ou"t the pistons on the bench, grabbed the pins with a (sort of bent pliers) Heated them up with a torch, & they dropped riight through the pisons & rods ! each one took about 30 seconds! so if you have NEW pistons & rods with the old pistons already Off, thats the way to go. using a press, you run the risk of "breaking" a piston.

..I was scooter mechanic for many years to support my military fantasies,,
it was common practice to lay parts including engines in the SUN to heat them ,, the male part was placed in a refrigerator freezer,where we kept the drugs and beer ,when ready the parts were assembled very quickly,, the heat expanded the female part just like you should do when preping for insertion ,, the part cooled is quickly wiped off before insertion because it will have moisture galore on it.
..this is the way to install a bearing RACE in a front brake hub,of course the sun is not as effective this time of year
I have seen parts that normally are a tight press fit almost fall thru the heated aluminum recieving part,speed is required once the parts touch

quote Originally posted by Francis T: While we do have a hydrolic press, is it worth the bother to get some dry ice when Im ready to press the pins into my new pistons?

quote Originally posted by Francis T: Thanks I plan to use a wrench socket slightly bigger than the pin diamitor when pressing the pin in, it worked fine for removing them.

"hydraulic"
"diameter"
"wrench socket" is not correct usage

The pins get pressed into the connecting rods, NOT the pistons. If you put the piston on its side and and use it for support as you try to press the pin through both at once, you WILL RUIN the piston.

quote Originally posted by Lou6t4gto: he ... grabbed the pins with a (sort of bent pliers) Heated them up with a torch, & they dropped riight through the pisons & rods !

I'm having trouble understanding how how expanding the wrist pins by heating them makes them a looser fit in the pistons and the connecting rod little ends.

Getting old & senile ! He heated up the small end of the ROD, & droped the pin through it. Sorry bout that.

Most auto machine shops only charge 10-15 bucks each to remove rods and install new pistons, why risk ruining you pistons?

Properly pressing pins takes a special press fixture, which is becoming increasingly rare these days as more and more OEM's are moving to floating pins.

Thanks everyone; since I will be getting the whole rotating mass balanced anyway, I'll just let the machine shop put the pins, rods and pistons together.
One other question, what would be a good minium clearance for valve reliefs -for new custom 9.5:1 pistons- ? Using clay etc, I calculated new cam I'm getting to (509 lift) will have .078" and .036" clearance to the pistons. Which seems kinda close.

quote Originally posted by Francis T: Thanks everyone; since I will be getting the whole rotating mass balanced anyway, I'll just let the machine shop put the pins, rods and pistons together. One other question, what would be a good minium clearance for valve reliefs -for new custom 9.5:1 pistons- ? Using clay etc, I calculated new cam I'm getting to (509 lift) will have .078" and .036" clearance to the pistons. Which seems kinda close.

The .078" is tight but the .036 is no good at all. Generally, .080" on intakes and .100' on exhaust valves is recommended.

quote Originally posted by TONY_C: The .078" is tight but the .036 is no good at all. Generally, .080" on intakes and .100' on exhaust valves is recommended.

I just back from bringing my block to be bored out and asked them, they agree with you. I'll likely go with 0.120 and 0.100 just to be safe.