according to the invention , linear hydroxy endblocked polyorganosiloxanes , linear chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes , or mixtures thereof , are redistributed with a diorganodichlorosilane using aqueous hydrochloric acid as catalyst . the process results in the formation of cyclic polyorganosiloxanes and chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes of low molecular weight , i . e ., short chain length . the linear hydroxy endblocked polyorganosiloxanes and the linear chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes that are redistributed according to the method of the invention are polymers having formulas i and ii . diorganodichlorosilanes corresponding to the above formula r ′ 2 sicl 2 include , for example , compounds such as dimethyldichlorosilane ( ch 3 ) 2 sicl 2 , ethylmethyldichlorosilane ( ch 3 )( c 2 h 5 ) sicl 2 , diethyldichlorosilane ( c 2 h 5 ) 2 sicl 2 , di - n - propyldichlorosilane ( n - c 3 h 7 ) 2 sicl 2 , di - i - propyldichlorosilane ( i - c 3 h 7 ) 2 sicl 2 , hexylmethyldichlorosilane ( ch 3 )( ch 3 )( ch 2 ) 4 ( ch 2 ) sicl 2 , di - n - butyldichlorosilane ( n - c 4 h 9 ) 2 sicl 2 , di - i - butyldichlorosilane ( i - c 4 h 9 ) 2 sicl 2 , di - t - butyldichlorosilane ( t - c 4 h 9 ) 2 sicl 2 , and n - butylmethyldichlorosilane ch 3 ( n - c 4 h 9 ) sicl 2 . the preferred diorganodichlorosilane is dimethyldichlorosilane ( dmdcs ). the catalyst used herein comprises aqueous hydrochloric acid , which is typically used in the redistribution reaction in an amount of from 0 . 1 - 70 percent by weight , based on the weight of the linear hydroxy endblocked polyorganosiloxanes , the linear chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes , or mixtures thereof , and the diorganodichlorosilanes used in the reaction . the aqueous catalyst may contain saturated concentrations of hcl at the temperature and pressure conditions at which the redistribution is conducted . the cyclic polyorganosiloxanes formed as a result of the redistribution generally consist of mixtures of cyclic polyorganosiloxanes containing 3 - 8 silicon atoms including , for example , hexaalkylcyclotrisiloxanes such as hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane , octaalkylcyclotetrasiloxanes such as octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane , decaalkylcyclopentasiloxanes such as decamethylcyclopentasiloxane , dodecaalkylcyclohexasiloxanes such as dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane , tetradecaalkylcycloheptasiloxanes such as tetradecamethylcycloheptasiloxane , and hexadecaalkylcyclooctasiloxanes such as hexadecamethylcyclooctasiloxane . the chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes that are produced according to the redistribution method of the invention are polymers having formula ii . in one embodiment , a majority of these redistributed chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes have a dp of 1 - 10 , alternatively 2 - 8 . the linear hydroxy endblocked polyorganosiloxanes , linear chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes , or mixtures thereof , and diorganodichlorosilanes are contacted with the aqueous hcl catalyst which facilitates their redistribution to a mixture of cyclic polyorganosiloxanes and chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes of low molecular weight . contact of the catalyst with the linear polyorganosiloxanes and the diorganodichlorosilanes can be affected by standard means for contacting liquids , for example , by a batch process or by a continuous - flow process . the process can be conducted in any standard reactor suitable for mixing corrosive materials . the required contact time for the linear hydroxy endblocked polyorganosiloxanes , the linear chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes , the mixtures thereof and the diorganodichlorosilanes with the catalyst to effect redistribution will depend upon such factors as temperature , type of linear polyorganosiloxanes and diorganodichlorosilanes , and concentration of the catalyst . in general , contact times up to 3 hours have been found useful . the preferred contact time is generally less than 30 minutes , most preferably less than 5 minutes . the process can be carried out at a temperature between 0 - 100 ° c ., but it is preferably conducted at ambient or room temperature , i . e ., 20 - 25 ° c . ( 68 - 77 ° f .). the amount of the linear hydroxy endblocked polyorganosiloxanes and / or the linear chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes and the amount of the diorganodichlorosilanes that can be used in the redistribution reaction is the volume ratio necessary to generate the desired molecular weight distribution of linear chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes . the determination of such volume ratios is within the scope of knowledge of those skilled in the art . the following examples are set forth in order to illustrate the invention in more detail . the method of analysis used in the examples was gel permeation chromatography ( gpc ) and gas chromatography ( gc ). since gc is not able to measure higher molecular weight peaks , siloxane species of higher molecular weight that were present in the samples analyzed , are not included in the analysis results . for that reason , the percents by weight before and after do not total 100 percent . the before analysis results show values obtained on the mixture before it was added to the teflon vessel . the after analysis results show values obtained after adding the mixture to the teflon vessel , pressurizing the vessel with hcl , agitating the vessel by hand - shaking , allowing the contents to sit , relieving the pressure , opening the vessel , and sampling the siloxane mixture . in tables 1 - 3 , d 3 to d 8 represent cyclic siloxanes comprising , respectively , difunctional d units of the formula [( ch 3 ) sio ] 3 - 8 . d 3 to d 8 are , respectively , hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane , octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane , decamethylcyclopentasiloxane , dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane , tetradecamethylcycloheptasiloxane , and hexadecamethylcyclooctasiloxane . ceb 2 to ceb 8 represent chloro - endblocked polyorganosiloxanes having chain lengths of 2 - 8 , respectively . a mixture was formed by mixing together 98 grain of a linear hydroxy endblocked polydimethylsiloxane and 140 gram of dimethyldichlorosilane me 2 sicl 2 . to a teflon vessel was added 12 . 72 gram of 37 percent by weight aqueous hydrochloric acid , and 43 . 13 gram of the mixture of linear hydroxy endblocked polydimethylsiloxane and dimethyldichlorosilane . the vessel was sealed and pressurized to 100 psig with gaseous hydrogen chloride . the vessel was agitated by hand shaking for 5 minutes to achieve saturation concentrations of aqueous hydrochloric acid at these new conditions and facilitate contact between the two phases . the pressure was released and a sample of a chlorosilane / siloxane phase was removed and analyzed . gpc analysis showed that the siloxane chains were shortened . analysis of the chlorosilane / siloxane mixture before and after by gc is shown in table 1 . a mixture was formed by mixing together 98 gram of a linear hydroxy endblocked polydimethylsiloxane and 140 gram of dimethyldichlorosilane me 2 sicl 2 . to a teflon vessel was added 11 . 5 gram of 37 percent by weight aqueous hydrochloric acid and 58 . 18 gram of the mixture of linear hydroxy endblocked polydimethylsiloxane and dimethyldichlorosilane . the vessel was sealed and pressurized to 100 psig with gaseous hydrogen chloride . the vessel was agitated by hand shaking periodically for 30 minutes , to achieve saturation concentrations of aqueous hydrochloric acid at these new conditions and facilitate contact between the two phases . the pressure was released and a sample of a chlorosilane / siloxane phase was removed and analyzed . gpc analysis showed that the siloxane chains were shortened . analysis of the chlorosilane / siloxane mixture before and after by gc is shown in table 2 . a mixture was formed by mixing together 103 . 61 gram of a hydroxy endblocked linear polydimethylsiloxane and 120 . 02 gram of dimethyldichlorosilane me 2 sicl 2 . to a teflon vessel was added 10 . 37 gram of 37 percent by weight aqueous hydrochloric acid and 50 . 96 gram of the mixture of linear hydroxy endblocked polydimethylsiloxane and dimethyldichlorosilane . the vessel was sealed and pressurized to 100 psig with gaseous hydrogen chloride . the vessel was agitated by hand shaking initially to achieve saturation concentrations of aqueous hydrochloric acid at these new conditions , and facilitate contact between the two phases . the vessel was then allowed to sit for three hours . the pressure was released and a sample of a chlorosilane / siloxane phase was removed and analyzed . gpc analysis showed that the siloxane chains were shortened . analysis of the chlorosilane / siloxane mixture before and after by gc is shown in table 3 . in tables 1 - 3 , the apparent increase in branching is due to the loss of chloride mass from the mixture of the linear hydroxy endblocked polydimethylsiloxane and the dimethyldichlorosilane due to hydrolysis of the dimethyldichlorosilane . other variations may be made in compounds , compositions , and methods described herein without departing from the essential features of the invention . the embodiments of the invention specifically illustrated herein are exemplary only and not intended as limitations on their scope except as defined in the appended claims .