I am ready to install the new pistons in my MP550 (MP= money pit). When I did RedZone years ago, the cir-clips provided were like the one on the right. The clips I have this time are like the one on the left. The one on the right had a tang you could get a hold of with needle nose pliers to assist in clip installation. Even at that they were a bitch to install. The left that I have this time have nothing to grab hold of and are very stiff. The seem quite a bit larger than the wrist pin hole, but I know they will be correct once installed.
Is there a trick to get these in without bleeding fingers and scratched up pistons around the hole? Is there a tool? I have seen cir-clip pliers, but the ones I have seen were way too large and cumbersome to deal with these little clips. Any help or advice appreciated.
I was born with nothing and still have most of it left.
Wear a glove and glasses for starters.
Hold one end of the circlip in fine nose pliers, insert the other end into the gudgeon pin 'hole' and gently twist the circlip in while holding a (gloved) thumb over the end you put in first. If you have a spare gudgeon pin, use it to gently push the circlip in 'square' so that it clicks into the groove in the piston. Obviously make sure the groove is clear and clean before starting the exercise.
Do not attempt this in a large untidy garage, as if (when!) the clip 'pings', it will be lost for ever.
Remember the rhyme,
The spring has sprung,
The grass has riz,
I wonder where,
That B***** is?
US - wrist pin (I think)
UK - gudgeon pin.
US - circlip
UK - little springy bleeder that nearly had my eye out when it exited at a zillion miles an hour.
Think of how stupid the average person is, then realise that half of them are more stupid than that.
+1 to what Alan said - a pair of needle nosed pliers to hold the circlip and insert most of it in the groove in the piston, and have a small flat-blade screwdriver to hand to push it fully home and make sure it's snug in the groove ALL the way around. Don't want it popping out again at 6,000rpm on the road ...
1976 GT380 - wounded by me, and sold on
2006 SV650S - killed by a patch of diesel and a kerb in Feb 2019
2017 SV650 AL7 - naked and unashamed
Above all.....make sure you have some rag stuffed into the crank case openings. Many years ago a pal "lost" a circlip when it pinged off somewhere...he assumed it had gone across the garage floor, but actually it had fallen into the unprotected crank case opening. The mess it made of that cylinder was unbelievable.
Must be an east coast thing. We called them Jesus clips in Jersey too. What's worse IMO are those miniscule E clips that go on the tank hinge and latch pins. I got in the habit of rolling up some tape and sticking it on the tank to help catch it on removal. They should come in packs of 20 cause when those fly off, they're history. Never to be seen again.
I was born with nothing and still have most of it left.
The Kawasaki guys (the ones I've read anyway) prefer the clips on the left, oem style, worries of that little tang breaking off after lots of vibrations - but I doubt if it is a real problem except for one more thing to worry about? I've always been able to just use my bare fingers to get the clips in the hole and then use a small flat blade to push it in to lock in the groove.
Tricks - well I put one clip in before mounting each piston, so there is only one (each) to fool with while hovering over the engine. Do the center piston first and then pre-load the inside-most side of pistons 1 & 3 with a clip so you are only installing the outer clips when it is on the bike. It is a PITA trying to install inner most clips on the bike otherwise.
NO WAY Jose' Can't even get one in. Have watched videos and listened to the replies here. There is a Wiseco video where the guy installs the clip in about 10 seconds. 15 minutes of my time and 15 minutes of my son's time to both fail. The wrist pin hole is so small, there is no way to get your thumb in it to hold it in place while you work the opposite end. Secondly, when you get one end in the groove the clip is nearly pointed straight at you -- perpendicular to the piston. These rings are super stout. To the guy who says I just squeeze it together with my fingers and push it in the pin hole -- I'd like to see you try that with these clips. About 1/16 is all it will compress with all the force you can.apply with your fingers. The wire is HARD!
So either I am missing something or I have the wrong clips. They don't look wrong (see first pic) but they ain't gonna go. I'd like to find some clips like the one on the right in the drawing above, bur I would have no idea where to shop for them or what size to ask for. I'm thinking of making some kind of trick tips for my snap ring pliers, but I doubt Ill ever get the arc correct. I'm whipped and I don't know what to do.
I was born with nothing and still have most of it left.
What brand of pistons are they - and did the clips come with them? I have a set of clips like the ones on the right, you are welcome to them. They came from a set of cruzin image pistons but I used oem clips for reasons mentioned above so these are just souvenirs.
The pistons are Suzuki and came from Paul Miller. The pistons were in OEM boxes. The 6 rings were in another OEM box. There were 3 more OEM boxes. Each contained a wrist pin, an upper bearing and 2 clips. The number on those 3 boxes was 09263-16015 which is the number for the bearing. The pins fit super nice with a medium finger pressure slip fit.
I was born with nothing and still have most of it left.
