I'm having a hard time getting clips off of the wristpins on my '50 in order to remove the pistons. Is their a trick to this?
By the way, approx what do panhead pistons/rings cost these days ?
problem with piston removal
-
Cotten
- Senior Member
- Posts: 6938
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2002 2:30 am
- Bikes: -
- Location: Central Illinois
- Has thanked: 112 times
- Been thanked: 310 times
Doc308!
What design of retainers are you dealing with?
If they are the original "top-hat" design, one end of the pin has a slot cut into it. The retainer can be pried off at that point.
Snap rings are obvious, so the other 'modern' designs are spiral locks and C-clips.
All require precise and sturdy tools.
For spirals and C-clips, I like a dental pick that bends twice (back to straight), and is sharpened to a blade point.
(Spirals have a notch in the end for tools to pry upward; Then the entire spiral must be gradually 'walked' out of its groove and out of the pin bore.
Great care must be taken if the piston is to be re-used.)
For 'top-hats', I sawed off a square-shafted screwdriver of slightly less width than the slot, and put a short bend in it to fulcrum off the opposite side of the pin opening.
Let us know what you are dealing with,
....Cotten
What design of retainers are you dealing with?
If they are the original "top-hat" design, one end of the pin has a slot cut into it. The retainer can be pried off at that point.
Snap rings are obvious, so the other 'modern' designs are spiral locks and C-clips.
All require precise and sturdy tools.
For spirals and C-clips, I like a dental pick that bends twice (back to straight), and is sharpened to a blade point.
(Spirals have a notch in the end for tools to pry upward; Then the entire spiral must be gradually 'walked' out of its groove and out of the pin bore.
Great care must be taken if the piston is to be re-used.)
For 'top-hats', I sawed off a square-shafted screwdriver of slightly less width than the slot, and put a short bend in it to fulcrum off the opposite side of the pin opening.
Let us know what you are dealing with,
....Cotten