The piston rings in your car’s engine are made of a variety of metals. The engine’s oil pressure and consumption are both regulated by these rings. If your engine’s piston rings are broken or worn out, you’re in for a world of trouble. You might be wondering how much is a piston replacement cost? Well, it doesn’t matter if piston rings are little and cheap; they’re still crucial to the engine’s performance.
What Are Piston Rings?
There are pistons in most combustion engines. During the combustion stroke, the pistons and closed valves in the head are employed to seal the combustion chamber. The combustion of the air and fuel combination causes the piston to move down the cylinder bore.
The piston is attached to the crankshaft through the connecting rod. It is the movement of the crankshaft that provides the power that pushes your car when the piston descends.
The pistons must form a tight seal with the cylinder walls in order for the combustion process to be complete. Rings that surround the piston are used to form this seal. Engine wear may cause piston rings to lose their seal or even shatter over time due to heat or poor tolerances, thus it is important to replace them as soon as possible.
How Do Piston Rings Work?
There are three rings in all, and it will be important to understand this information as we go along with piston ring replacement cost. Each of the pistons has a groove that goes around its whole diameter. Regardless matter how many rings a vehicle has, each performs a critical role:
Compression Ring
This is the piston ring at the very top. This ring’s primary function is to maintain the piston rings’ compression and pressure, as its name indicates. There are three fluids involved in combustion: fuel, air, and exhaust gas. This seal keeps these fluids from leaking into the piston.
Wiper Ring
Located between the bottom-most oil control ring and the compression ring. Two primary functions are served by the wiper ring. An effective seal may be maintained simply by strengthening compression rings. Here, the compression ring acts as a barrier to prevent any combustion gases from leaking out. Additionally, it must wash and clean the cylinder walls of extra engine oil.
Oil Ring
Known as O-Rings, they are the piston rings located at the bottom of the cylinder. Motor oil is needed to keep the pistons lubricated. However, any oil that escapes into the combustion chamber is not a good thing. Burning it will just cause more wear on the engine and a greater need for oil. The oil rings in the crankcase prevent oil from leaking out around the bottom of the pistons.
Signs Of A Bad Piston Rings
Faulty piston rings symptoms are difficult to distinguish from bad valve seals since they share many of the symptoms. Regardless, you should get your car inspected by a professional technician.
Here are the five most common signs of damaged piston rings.
Excessive Exhaust Smoke
Excessive exhaust smoke may be a sign that your piston rings need to be changed if your vehicle is releasing a lot of it. This smoke is thick and black, with a tinge of dark gray and blue to it. As a rule, it emits an odor like burning oil.
Engine oil will seep into the combustion chamber if the piston rings are worn out. You may see the thick blue-gray exhaust smoke streaming out of your car when that occurs.
Failing To Accelerate
Your engine’s power decreases as a result of reduced compression caused by worn or broken piston rings.
Because of this, it will take a long time to accelerate when you place your foot down on the gas pedal at the same moment. You’ll need to replace your piston rings if this is the case.
Too Much Oil In Intake
In many cases, blowby is the cause of oily air intake. In a combustion chamber, the air and oil mixture may escape via the piston rings, causing a buildup of positive pressure in the crankcase.
Through the PCV pipe, this pressure is released back into the intake. An oily intake might be an indication that there is a lot of blowby present.
Over-consumption Of Oil
A lot more oil will be used up by the engine if your piston rings are worn and there is oil leakage into the chamber.
This implies that you’ll have to do an oil change regularly instead of waiting for the customary 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Your piston rings should be checked by a professional if you find yourself having to add oil more often than necessary.
Vehicle Performance Is Bad
In the worst-case scenario, a car with defective piston rings will lose all power. If you try to accelerate your car, you’ll be unable to do so at all. You’ll likely need to take your car to a repair because of the poor performance.
Piston Ring Replacement Cost
The expense of replacing the piston rings is high. The piston rings themselves are inexpensive, ranging in price from $30 to $150. However, labor is mostly responsible for the majority of the total replacement cost.
Because the worn-out piston rings are located within your engine, a technician will have to remove the engine from your car and dismantle it to replace them.
Your vehicle’s engine must be reassembled and reinstalled once the piston rings are replaced. On average, the whole procedure will take more than 10 hours.
For a work of this nature, a typical car technician would charge between $100 and $200 in labor fees per hour. Assuming your local mechanic needs 11 hours to complete the job, you should expect to spend anything from $1100 to $2200 simply for labor.
Parts costing $100 will bring the total to somewhere between $1200 and $2300. However, if your engine is more difficult for a technician to reach, this price range might be considerably higher. How much gas you use depends on the type and manufacture of your car.
Conclusion
Piston rings are integral to the proper functioning of your car’s engine. If they become damaged, you may experience several issues, such as excessive exhaust smoke, decreased acceleration power, and an increase in oil consumption.
Replacing piston rings is a complex and time-consuming task that should be carried out by a professional technician. The cost of replacing piston rings is high, averaging between $1200 and $2300. The majority of this cost is due to labor fees.
