Hi,
I have the engine apart and pistons out and am going to put in a new set of rings.
I have a ring compressor, but do i need a ring extractor to remove old ones and put new ones on?
tnx patrick

It makes things easier and the tool is very inexpensive

You will get other post as well but here goes. You will need a handheld drill and a flexible hone. If you have never done this before, find a junk lawnmower engine to practice honing on. It isn't hard and the learning curve if short. I lubricate the hone with kerosene but diesel or even mineral spirits should work. Wipe the freshly honed cylinder out with laquer thinner and a clean rag when done. You will also want to protect the crank pins with a rag.

You can change rings without ring pliers but if you break a ring you will find the pliers much cheaper than another set of rings. Sears sells them as does autozone and other outlets. Autozone has a tool loan program so you can probably pay the deposit on the hone, ring plies, and ring compressor which you will get back when you turn them back in.

You will also need a set of feeler gauges. Measure the lands in the piston to ensure they aren't too wide. If they are, it will still use a bunch of oil as it acts as a pump. You will also use the feeler gauge to measure and adjust your ring gap.

Here is a list of things you will need and may not own.

Torque wrench
hone
ring pliers
ring compressor
feeler gauges

It isn't hard, good luck.

Check the piston pin/piston bushings while you have it apart. Mark up the rods and rod caps, so you can put them back in the right positions again.

Check the top of the cylinder bore to be sure that there is no ridge. A good parts store may rent or loan you the necessary tools to complete the job.

You can drag your finger nail upwards along the cylinder bore near the top and if you can feel a ridge it must be removed. If the upper ridge is not removed, the rings will break when they come in contact with it. I learned about that in 1949 . . . . :<(

The rings must have gap at the end where the two ends almost meet. The worn cylinder wall will most likely have taper. There should be a recommended gap between the ends at the place where the cylinder is the smallest diameter. When the rings are installed the gaps are rotated around in different places so as to make the combustion gasses travel farther from ring to ring and this keeps leaking to a minimum.

The cylinder wall is honed to roughen it up so that the piston rings can wear into it and seat properly. If you do not hone, or de-glaze the cylinders the rings will not seat and you will make lot of bluish white smoke every where you go.