OEM 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser Piston

2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser Piston Parts and Q&A

• Q: How to Maintain and Fix a Piston and Its Connecting Rod on 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser?

  A: First, remove the cylinder head, oil pan and balance shaft assembly to work on and fix the piston and connecting rod. Before taking out the pistons, use a strong ridge reamer to remove the top of the cylinder bores and cover the tops of the pistons during this stage. Mark the piston for each cylinder and then add the number for that cylinder to the side of the rod and cap to help with identification. Notice that the pistons show a marking with an arrow facing toward the engine's front on the bottom side. Raise each connecting rod until it is centered in the bore, then remove the cap bolts and gently push the piston and rod assembly out so you don't hit the crankshaft journals. As the cylinder uses pistons and connecting rods as an assembly, the bearing cap should be installed on the mating rod after removal and the cylinder bore checked for any wear. Hone or deglaze the cylinder of the engine before inserting the piston rings. First, check that the middle gaps in the compression rings are staggered and that the oil ring expander ends line up with the rail gaps before you use the ring compressor. Place the piston head and rings into clean engine oil, put the ring compressor over the piston and keep the rings in their usual positions. The front face of the engine should be where the directional stamp is located on the piston. Turn the crankshaft so the connecting rod journals at either end of the rod center in the bore, put in the piston and rod assembly and guide the rod over the journals on the crankshaft. Place the hammer handle onto the piston and while holding the connecting rod, tap the piston down with the handle. Old connecting rod cap bolts should not be reused; coat all new bolts with clean engine oil, fasten them loosely by hand so that each one turns a little and then use the torque wrench on just half of the bolts while tightening them all evenly, being careful not to use the torque wrench for the last half of this step. Fasten the bolts to 27 Nm and then give them a 1/4 turn extra. After that, check the space between the connecting rod and a feeler gauge before putting the balance shaft assembly, oil pan and cylinder head back in place.