Piston circlips

[sidevalve44]

I have read that one should not re-use piston (gudgeon pin) circlips.

Whilst I can understand that in high performance two stroke engines, would it really matter if I were to re-use them in a Briggs & Stratton 3HP, are they really likely to jump out ?

Not being cheapskate, just wondering. ( I forgot to add them to my spares order !)

[wristpin]

Maybe I’ve been lucky but I’ve never suffered a failure from a reused circlip – just don’t twist them when removing. I did once see an engine where the pin was moving about in the piston and had worn a slot in the bore at opposite sides. The amazing thing was that other than difficult starting it performed pretty much as usual.

[andyfrost]

Same as Angus , I’ve re-installed old ones many hundreds of times with no issues whatsoever.

Andy.

[dorigny]

This takes me back to a Flymo GT4 that came into the workshop. It would start fine and run up well but then suddenly disappear in blue smoke. That was a missing clip leading to the pin machining a slot in the bore. Perfect bit of machining too…

Another, at first unexplained, oil lifting occurrence I recall was a welch plug having moved in a Honda G400 cam shaft centre…started up and ran well at first then oil puthering into air filter via breather… sorry for reminiscing digress here.

On topic, I too have mostly re used clips.

Clive.

[sidevalve44]

Thanks guys !

Supplier wanted silly money what with postage etc., So, have now put piston back on using the old clips. They were hard work to get back in so, I can’t see them coming out on their own.

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