Piston Question

[Tom Endy]

The attached photos are of a piston I removed from an April 31 engine that I believe has not been apart in 50-60 years. The four pistons were frozen in the cylinders and I had to drive them out with a rod. Two of them came out in pieces. All four pistons are standard size and all had the Ford logo on them.

The question is:

What are the devices found in the skirt of each piston. They look like some kind of expander, as they can be adjusted by turning the small hex on each side. The one in the photo is broken on one side.

Tom Endy

 

[Tom Wesenberg]

Yep, they are skirt expanders. I've taken a couple engine apart that had some like that also.

 

[Rowdy]

The diamond block I took apart a couple of years ago had the same expanders in the pistons. Rod

 

[pat in Santa Cruz]

I remember reading about these in the JC Whitney catalogs in the 60's. They were sold as a cheap alternative to replacing slapping pistons.