piston retaining clip

[jesse]

I took apart my engine to see why it had seized. I lost the little retaining clip that holds the piston in place.

Can anyone help me find another one? I can't find a description in the manual.

Thanks.

[Mark]

Hi Jesse,

The clips you mentioned are item #B54 on page B of the parts diagram. If the engine seized you will want to carefully inspect the engine for additional damage. For and engine to seize two of the metal surfaces must make contact. You will find damage to both of these surfaces. If the retaining ring did fall off then the contact which caused the engine to seize was likely between the Piston Pin (Item #B55) and the cylinder wall (Item #B58). It is very unlikely that the retaining ring would fall off without help from another issue. Typically this type of failure is caused by insufficient lubrication. As the engine heats up due to the lack of lube the retaining ring and the piston pin will expand at different rates due to the different metals and different sizes. It is this difference in expansion that causes the retaining ring to fall off.

I hope this helps with your repair.

-Mark