Aluminum pistons ???

Any one ever use aluminum pistons ?

Opinions on them ??

Michael, I've used aluminum pistons in model A and T Fords before and I see no reason why they wouldn't work nicely in a stationary engine. They do need more clearance than iron, about .001" per inch of bore and you would have to make bronze bushings to fit the wrist pin. Any good auto parts house will have stock and oversizes listed so you can pick and choose.I have a Hercules with a knurled iron piston (loose) and am thinking of the same treatment for this engine. George

the problem with aluminum piston is they were made for car engines.hit/miss engines are taller.if you measure from the wrist pin to the top of the piston,it's hard to find a alum.piston that matches.there usually off a 1/2" or more.if you use them the compression will be so low your'e engine won't start.bear in mine most hit/miss engines have only about 40-80 psi about the same compression as a modern day lawn mower.car engines on the other hand have pistons that are shorter because the run at a much higher rpm 5,000-7,000rpm.i wish someone would make alum.pistons for our engines,because alum. pistons expand more,it would take up the slop in our old engines-my 2 cent's worth-chuck

Aluminum pistons are OK for closed crank engines but look "out of character" for open cranks where you can see them. They are much lighter but are not very forgiving to under oiling or over heating. I would stick with cast iron if it shows and it's available.

I am getting in pistons made of aircraft aluminum for the John Deere 1 ½. I will also have them for 3 HP JD. I sell the 20 quart freezers ice cream and complete units (see business cards) They make the JD E run a lot smother and is great for these engines that are run every day. They are not cheap the cost is about $185.

Thanks Harry

I can go along with tin can or plastic gas tanks, affordable and like someone said, it's your engine and don't hurt the value that much, and if sold the buyer can do something different. But I shudder when I think of aluminum pistons in the old iron. I don't go along with the comments that they run smoother and quite frankly, they look like hell and this should not be encouraged in restoring engines. Some might say we sell cast iron pistons and this is just sour grapes. I'm putting this on here as a collector and my love of these engines. I sell gas tanks also but not knocking that thread. I also dislike aluminum as a substitute for any original cast iron parts but if that's all that is available better than nothing at all (Guess this goes for pistons also but hate to see this coming across as a better idea-it's not). Just a personal opinion gents. Ed

I made a patern and core box for my Lockwood Ash marine engine. I have a single cylinder 4hp. The CI piston weighed 4 1/2#, the aluminum weighs about 2. It cost me $70 dollars to have these cast and heat treated, but these engines have no counterbalance and it was really uncomfortable running. I hope to finish my balanced crank this winter.

Couldn't you bolt a plate on top of the piston to take up space in the combustion chamber?

Dave reed (piston ring)makes aluminun pistons and he is sponser of this site.

(I must have ratchet-jaw this morning!)

My butt-buggy has what used to be a very tired F-M ZC-52 engine. I made the engine up from parts of two engines and the best piston fit I could get was, as I recall, about 0.050" skirt clearance and it rapped something fierce. Finally, I got real tired of hearing it so I looked around for a new oversize piston but all I could find were standard size.

Because the ZC-52 has a closed crankcase and splash oiling; rather than turning the piston and sleeving the bore to fit, I had it bored from 3-5/8" (plus the worn slop) to 3-3/4" plus 0.004" and put-in a new standard size piston, rings and wrist ("gudgeon" for our British friends!) pin for a modern 18 horse Kohler. The pin is the same diameter as the F-M but the compression distance (between the wrist pin and the head of the piston) is a little shorter.

I rebushed the F-M little end and had it reamed to a snug fit to the Kohler pin and also had the shop mill off about 0.1" of the width from each end of the bushing so the rod would have some side clearance in the piston.

I think the two seasons of running (probably about 200-300 hours at all speeds) proves that this will be a long lasting fix.

A couple of comments: - Since the piston has holes drilled at the bottom of the oil ring groove for oil to run back to the crankcase, if the engine sits for a few days, it smokes a lot when first started but doesn't smoke at all after warming up. It also doesn't use a noticeable amount of oil between yearly changes. - The shorter compression distance with resulting lower compression ratio doesn't seem to affect the power output noticeably. It might even make the engine idle better.

Talkative, ain't I!!!!

Take care - Elden