93 Camry in-frame piston ring replacement

TEDSTEHR

MEMBER
1993 TOYOTA CAMRY

I have a 93 Camry Station wagon with manual transmission and four cylinder. It has about 180k on it. In January, I replaced the clutch, which, in my home garage was a devil of a job. In the past few weeks, it has started consuming huge amouts of oil, e.G. 1 qt or more per fill up. There are no leaks on the ground. I can see the odd wisp of smoke on acceleration. So I am thinking I will replace the rings in frame. I was thinking I would remove the head and oil pan, unbolt the connecting rods and after reaming the ridge, remove the piston assemblies, hone the cylinders and replace the rings. I am not planning on replacing the connecting rod or main bearings.
My question is "is this wise on an engine this old?" Can it be done or is there something that would prevent this from being done in frame? The car fits our needs perfectly, so I hate to see it be scrapped.
Thanks in advance.

2 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

There is nothing really hard about doing a re ring in situ. You have mentioned all that needed to be done in your post, although do use a good repair manual as a definitive guide. I would have the head checked while it is off, even if only to replace the valve stem seals. You should measure the bore diameters and the pistons to make sure that it will accept std rings, check the oil pump as well while your in there. Don't skimp on the little things as you might as well do a through job as possible while you have it down. But remember that you are only doing a part rebuild, so keep that in mind with your expectations of the end result.

Mark (mhpautos)