Patent ID: 7146724

Claim:
A method of assembling an internal combustion engine, said engine comprising a crankcase having an open top and a closed bottom for receiving a crankshaft, a crankshaft, a plurality of connecting rods and pistons with piston rings, and an extruded cylinder block with a cylinder bore for each of said pistons, said bores extending from a top surface to a bottom surface of the block, said method comprising the steps of: placing an assembly comprising said crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons into said crankcase through said open top of said crankcase, said pistons and a portion of said connecting rods extending out of the open top of said crankcase; compressing said piston rings on each of said pistons to fit into bores in said cylinder block; inserting said pistons into said block so that they enter the corresponding bores at said bottom surface of said block while releasing the compression of said rings as they are received into each respective bore; and attaching said crankcase to said block.