JE piston pin cilps
 

I am working on a 3.2 ss and started installing the cylinder/pistons oto the rods. I am finding that installing the JE clips is a real pain!! I used notched screwdrivers and it seems like I can't figure out the 'trick' to installing them. I got three psitons in but it is taking about an hour per pistons. Any one have any ideas or techniques on how to get them on easily? Any help would be greatly appreciated

I've done these a bunch of times and after several mishaps (including "inserting" one of those screwdrivers into my left middle finger and losing a good amount of blood) now have it down...yesterday I got one on the first try!

Its hard to describe, but I'll try...

insert one end of the clip in the groove. Use one screwdriver (any flat one will do) and place the flat end against the piston where the end you just inserted is, levered against the adjacent cylinder stud. Now use the other screwdriver in your other hand (again, any flat one will do) levered against the other adjacent cylinder stud and use leverage to work the flat screwdriver tip along the clip, forcing the clip in.

Wear safety glasses, and clean up the shop first (and sweep) so you can find it when it goes supersonic...

good luck!

Yes, they are a pain.
Couple of tips:
- Shove rags behind the piston so a clip can't fly into the case
- You can install one clip per piston while the piston is on the bench.
-Chris

Piston clip tool
 

When you get done bleeding, we make a custom clip install tool that will install all the clips in minutes with no blood, the catch is they are custom and require a little time and your pin and piston to build the tool, I realize a one time builder may want to just struggle, but if you do a few or many its a trick way the cost is aprox 175.00 and will pay for itself in the first or second assy. If you need pics or references Jerry Roche at JE has seen the tool.
we can do the tool for long rod /moved pin set ups as well ( the real reason for the tool)
Mike Bruns JBRacing.com

I wish I had known about the tool before - Thanks for the tips guys - I will try again tonight. Good point on putting a rag in the pin Chris - I lost one clip in the case but was not sure it actually fell into the case. After about two hours of fliping the case up and down I managed to locate it - talk about being ecstatic!! I had to call it a day after that.

This is how I arrange the rags to catch any flying clips:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1098899525.jpg
-Chris

Tool
 

There is a couple of pics on our web site, look under products and then tools. It will give you an idea, with the differences in pistons you can have several clip recievers and use just one push tool as long as the pins are the same dia. JBRacing.com
Mike Bruns

Mike, I need one of these. I looked at the pictures, can you give us a breif explantion of how it works? I will call the shop to get one tomorrow!

Cheers

Pin Tool
 

The tubular part of the tool is pin bore size with a long taper at the entrance so you can load the circlip about an inch or so then take the push tool square up the clip, the push tool has a pilot section that goes in the I.D.of the wrist pin, you load the pin into the bore of the tool insert the pin into the piston and slide the tubular part up snug to the piston (this is why the tool has to fit the particular piston) a quick push the clip goes from the tool into the clip groove, you can install the other clip in the same way on the bench just as easy. If you look at the tool on the site one of them is for a long rod version which has the pin up into the oil ring groove and the tool has to fit that very tightly. on a 911 with
long rods where you have to assemble the pistons on the rods then install the clips,rings, then cyls. with everything ready to go together they can be done very quickly with this tool.
Mike Bruns

I have just been fitting my pistons today. They are 98 mm JEs.
There is a trick to the clips.
Fit one to the piston while still on the bench.
To fit the clips follow this:
Insert the one end of the clip into the small recess used to remove the clips. Then push them in with your finger. The unclipped end will be pressing under the flat machined portion under the dome of the piston. Take a medium sized flat screwdriver and insert between the piston and gradualy walk the already inserted end into the recess.

I hope this makes sence. It tooke me about one minute for each clip.

It took me one hour per clip and about one pint of blood the last time I did this.

Hope this helps.

I will give it a try - thanks. I worked on one piston last night - after two hours I got it in but my piston partially slipped out of the cylinder at some point requiring me to take it all apart again!

Why on earth do they make the circlips so hard to get in. Once they have been compressed they have lost most of the spring in them and are deformed. Also there is very little pressure on these and in fact the gudgen pin is chamfer and so will push the pin tighter not out.

I have just installed mine and have developed another technique!

Cheers

Mark........

Care to share what your "technique" is?

1meansc - thanks for the tip. I tried it and finally got the last three pictons in with no problem.

We built the same tool!!!
 

Pretty funny, I guess great minds think alike. My dad and I were scratching our heads on how to get those circlips )without the holes for easy plier compression) inserted while on the engine.
Yes, when on the bench, you can insert an old wrist pin into the piston (to keep the clip from going in too far) and get in one of the clips just by putting it in sideways and wedging it in. But once on the engine, it is a different story.
What we did was to use a grinder and knock off 2 parts of a rod bushing 180 degrees from eachother (looking just like the tool JBracing has, ...damn, I was going to patent this tool..) and use an old wrist pin to drive it home. You simply insert the clip the same way as you did in the piston, by inserting it sideways to compress it. Then you put it face down on your bench and "pre-load" it to the notched end of your rod bushing with the wrist pin. then you simply put it where you want it and give it a sharp whack with a metal hammer (not dead blow). Worked great!!! No bloody knuckles or additional cuss words. And get this....free.....

Chris

p.s. If I can get my dad to take a picture of the tool, maybe he can post it. Not pretty, but it works....

I installed some 90mm JEs this weekend and made a similar tool. It worked great. I didn't have an old wrist pin bushing but I found a brass bushing at the hardware store that did the trick. It even had a flange on it which made it easy to handle. Here are a few pictures - sorry they are a little blurry. If anyone would like to borrow it let me know.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1137386674.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1137386727.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1137386741.jpg

And Daddy's little helper shows that it's so easy to use that even a child could do it... :D

Get some eye protection on that young'un:D

He did stand back when we put the clips in however all 12 of them went in without any going into orbit. The tool worked great after a few practice runs...

Just to resurrect this thread for a moment:
the jbell tool is a great idea. I made one out of an old wrist pin bushing for my 90mm JE's. I have no idea why JE uses such a wicked spring material; it is completely unnecessary for the application.

I absolutely couldn't put the clips in without making this tool. Now, as soon as I get the 90's finished off, I will start on the 3.0L 95's (the fleet is 2/3 engineless!)