i pulled the crank arms off my bike today and it seems that the chainring and the crank arm are one piece. does that seem right or are they just pressed together and can be seperated? if they are one piece i have to get new cranks in order to get a new chainring , right? thanks for any and all help.

If they are one piece, you are SOL. If they have 5mm size allen key stack bolts holding the ring to the spider, you can swap it out. That's about it. Pics or at least a part name would foster more accurate assistance from other members. This is true for all gear specific questions 9 times out of 10.

no its a 3pc crank and the crank arm has no spider the chainring is just right up against the crank arm. it had two chainrings one was attached to the other with the 5mm allen bolts. ill post a pic later