Removing pistons and sleeves as a unit.
 

Good day folks, I am in the process of tearing down a 1986 911 carrera 3.2 to replace a few broken head studs, Valve guide and seals change. I am trying to remove the pistons and sleeves as a unit. I have #1 at TDC and have slid the cylinder off far enough to expose the wrist pin. (Removed cam housing)
Question: Is there any special way to remove the Circlips. This application seem a little different from what I am accustomed to. usually I would use a (C) clip tool to remove this type of retainer, but I see no holes or hooks on which to put the tool..

Is this Circlip just a piece of circular stiff wire?. how best to remove it.. Thanks for any help..

I put an ice pick behind it but on #1 you need to be removing the circling from the #2side because the circling is shallower in the piston.
Why you want to put yourself through the agony of keeping them together while you're doing all the work......
Bruce

Bruce,
Thanks for the reply, I just called the wife to pick one up from the hardware store, you saved me a long trip to town..

About keeping the pistons and sleeves together, I was following a recommendation for keeping KS units together, and so focused on the idea, I did not imagine that I may have MAHLE.. I do.. I just slid one off and MAHLE 95ZN1 printed on # 1 Happy day! I lucked out... SmileWavy

Thanks again!!

Refresher, 3.0/3.2 cylinders
Mahle has 11 fins
K/S has 10 fins.
You want to pull the clip on the left side of the piston.
Bruce

Nice bit of information, would have made my decision much easier to have just counted the fins. I am taking a break today and doing some more reading, trying to stay ahead of the hands on. Reading the post; Making A Piston Clip Tool (Guerilla Method) It seem that porsche require a special tool for every item installed. As Wayne suggested, I used the end of a spark plug to remove the cam gear pin. I made my on tool 9191 to hold the cam sprocket, and my home-made smoke machine identified a vacuum leak in the throttle body linkage passage.

I am not familiar with the guerrilla inventive association, but mcguyer tool making sure apply when trying to avoid the cost of some of these special tools..

But as said earlier, necessity is the mother of invention. Someone will soon start a post asking to show all of the home-made tools made. a fitting tribute to Mcguyer.
Not sure if the host would appreciate that though. Competitive alternatives??;)

I'm aware of the neat circlip installation tool; not so much with an even slicker extraction device.

I use a very thin bladed screwdriver - should have a flatter/thinner cross section than a typical ice pick. Use two; one to pry it up from the access areas (top and bottom of the pin boss) and the other to coax it further. Once one end is exposed, grab it with a small, long nose plier and rotate it appropriately to slide it out of the groove. You don't want any bits dropping into the engine (not sure how far you're going). Have a small magnetic p/u tool nearby and a tray to collect and count the clips. At any rate, I suggest covering all engine openings with shop towels or equivalent during disassembly and assembly.

Sherwood

Sherwood thanks for the pointers. As soon as I pulled off the piston sleeves I sprayed the still attached pistons with Carb cleaner I know some of the gook went inside the case before I thought of covering it up. Since I do not intend to split the case I am wondering if I should flush the the case with some type of cleaner before I start assembly. I am still on the fence about detaching the pistons. Is it advisable to clean the pistons in place, change piston rings and then start backing out to reassembly. I believe piston rings is as far as I am going in.

John

Internal cleaning (or flushing) depends on the contents of the "gook". If it's just carb cleaner, don't bother. It evaporates fairly quickly. Same with any grease that liquifies with heat. An oil drain after breakin should be fine. Anything else, YMMV.

I would remove the pistons in order to clean, inspect for wear and to fit and install new rings. Caked on carbon needs a soak in proper carb cleaner. The pins are full floating fit, thus after removing one circlip on the exit side, use a suitable punch to remove the pin. Mark the piston and cylinder so they re-unite for assembly. Use Wayne's book and other reference manuals as a guide to reassembly. Take pics as needed to remind you how parts go together. Bag and ID parts, etc., etc.

You've reached one (or more) thresholds in the slippery slope. Depending on the status of the engine internals, you'll have to decide when to stop and begin the rebuilding phase. This includes a consideration of vehicle history (mag or aluminum case, vintage engine, miles) as well as a visual inspection of parts and wear, appearance of the crankcase internals, prior compression/leakdown test results, cylinder head condition, other signs of prior ownership maintenance, leaks, etc.

Hope this helps.
Sherwood

Thanks for the feedback: I actually removed the pistons today, not too much drama with the circlips, ground down a finishing nail to a fine point turned the clips until a few mm was just past the indent, placed the nail behind it pried the end out of the grove and grabbed it with a needle-nose .. I had to put one back in also, wrong side removed, no difficulty.. The 911 circlips must be lest rigid than most.. I have been working on a clean set-up area.. I will be spending the next couple of weeks cleaning up the parts and catching up with my other projects.. Thanks for all the good advice..

John

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