880558 Mercury GUIDE, Short

Be sure to remove the piston cooling tubes before removal of the pistons and connecting rods. Damage to the piston cooling tubes can cause the oil spray to be out of alignment and piston seizure will be the result.
1. Remove the carbon from the top inside surface of the cylinder liners.2. Turn the crankshaft until two pistons are at bottom center. 3. Remove bearing caps (1) from the two connecting rods. 4. Push the pistons up until the piston rings are clear of the cylinder liner. Remove pistons (2). Keep each cap with its connecting rod.
Do not turn the crankshaft while any of the connecting rods are in the engine without the caps installed.
5. Do Steps 1 through 4 for the remainder of the pistons.Install Pistons
1. Put clean engine oil on the piston rings, connecting rod bearings and cylinder liners.2. Put two pistons in position opposite of each other in the correct bore of the block. Install pistons (1) with tool (A).
Make sure that the pistons are installed with flat surfaces (2) of the connecting rods toward each other and the chamfered sides (4) toward the crankshaft.
For more detail about the installation of connecting rod bearings see REMOVE AND INSTALL CONNECTING ROD BEARINGS.3. Check the bearing clearances with Plastigage.4. Put clean engine oil on bolts (5). Install caps (3) and nuts finger tight. Tighten each nut to a torque fo 80 8 N m (60 6 lb.ft.). Put a mark across the nuts and bolts. Tighten each nut 120° more. Do not use an impact wrench.5. Check the side clearance between two connecting rods on the same crankshaft journal. Clearance must be 0.28 to 0.84 mm (.011 to .033 in.) for new rods.6. Do Steps 1 through 5 for the remainder of the pistons.END BY:a) install oil pumpb) install cylinder headsDisassemble And Assemble Pistons
START BY:a) remove pistons 1. Remove bearings (3) from the connecting rod and connecting rod cap.2. Remove retainer ring (1) with tool (A).3. Remove pin (2) and connecting rod (4) from the piston. 4. Remove the piston rings (5) from the piston with tool (B). Clean the piston ring grooves on the pistons with an acceptable ring groove cleaning tool. See Use Of Piston Pin Bearing Removal And Installation Tools, Special Instructions, Form No. SMHS7295-02.5. Heat the connecting rod (4) in an oven to a temperature of 177°-260°C (350°-500°F). Never use a direct flame to heat a connecting rod. 6. Put connecting rod (4) in position on the base plate of tooling (C). Put a new rod pin bearing (6) on the adapter part of tooling (C). The old bearing is pushed out by tooling (C) as the new bearing is installed.7. Use tooling (C) to push the new bearing into the connecting rod until the push adapter of tooling (C) makes full contact with the connecting rod surface.8. Use a pin boring machine to make the rod pin bearing the correct size. The bore in the new rod pin bearing must be 50.830 0.008 mm (2.0012 .0003 in.).9. Check the clearance between the ends of the piston rings. See Pistons And Rings in Specifications.10. Install the oil ring spring in the oil ring groove of the piston. The oil ring is to be installed over the spring with the oil ring end gap 180° from the oil ring spring joint. 11. Install the oil ring on the piston with tool (B).12. Install the second (intermediate) piston ring with the side that has the identification "UP-2" toward the top of the piston with tool (B).13. Install the first (top) piston ring with the side that has the identification "UP-1" toward the top of the piston with tool (B). After the installation of all three piston rings, put the piston rings in position so the end gaps are 120° apart.14. Make reference to Specification Form No. SENR2602 for Connecting Rod, Piston And Ring specification. 15. Put the piston in position on connecting rod (4). Put clean engine oil on pin (2) and install the pin. Install retainer rings (1) with tool (A). Make sure the retainer rings are in the grooves of the piston.16. Install bearings (3) in the connecting rod and connecting rod cap.END BY:a) install pistons