Brake MC Rebuild- Snap Ring will not go in...What the Heck am I Missing

Trying to finish my MC rebuild on a 84 Heritage Special. The MC is original. Was a little dirty but went ahead and ordered a re-build kit from the Mike's affiliate in Canada. The kit is fine and everything went back ok except for the life of me I cannot get the snap ring in. Though maybe it was the wrong size but it is exactly as the original.

Got the ring out no problem with a pair on long nose snap ring pliers. I can get the snap ring into the bore on top of the washer and into the groove, but it will not stay. Continues to pop out. Does the same thing with the original ring or the replacement. Tried it with flat side of the ring up and down. No difference. The ears of the ring seem to go in but the other side does not. If I push on it with a screwdriver to push the ring into the groove it just pops out. When I think I have it in, I push the plunger a couple of times and it pops out.

Not my first rodeo with a snap ring but I sure hope a hell that the groove is not fubar. It sems to look ok. Can't see how it could be as the old ring came out ok. Funny thing is I can pretty much get the ring down the bore without compressing it. That does not seem right????

Am I missing something obvious here or is the hold very week on this ring.

Could be that the groove is full of ships and debris next time you go to the dentist ask him for some of his old dental tools they routinely retire them and my dentist gives me them they're really good at killing the cockroach in the corner or cleaning grooves

I have some....tried that already. Maybe I will try again and be a bit more aggressive.

I looks clean and the other clip would have occupied that space but will give it a go again. Thanks for the feedback.

Tried again. Groove is clean. THought I would put it in and then try it with the lever on the bike. Flicking the lever a couple of times pops the ring out.

Like I said in the original post, the snap ring has very little if any snap into the groove. There is just no pressure holding it in. That groove is not deep at all and the snap ring (original and new one) can go into the bore with barely any compression. I can actually slide the ring all the way down. When it is in the groove, I can see the ears in the groove and the opposite side is barely in. If i push down on the opposite side of the ring from the ears, the whole thing pos out. I am missing something here or is that the way it is supposed to be and once it is fully assembled it is find. I can't say that give me a good feeling know it can just unsnap at any time.

Unless someone tells me any different, I think that groove is messed up. There was some corrosion in there. Perhaps it is worse than I thought but everything cleaned up without even touching it with anything other than brake cleaner and a rag. This one has me stumped. If it is the groove, I don't think I really have any options to hold that plunger in

Sometimes the snap ring gets compressed and needs to be spread open again or replaced. Try prying the ring open more so it's a tighter fit down into the bore.

OK, crisis averted. Guess writing to oneself on a thread works just like talking to oneself......just other people get to see it also.

Either I squeezed the new clip too hard or it was not adjusted right. Either way, I opened it up slightly wider by about 3/4 of a mm and tried it again. Now I get the familiar "snap" sound of it going in the groove and seems to be holding. Poked and prodded it a few times and swiveled it with a screwdriver and did not pop back out. Slammed the piston open an closed and looks good. Can see the washer bouncing up and down slightly on full compression but the clip holds it on release.

Hopefully me responding to my own issue helps someone else......

5twins said:

Sometimes the snap ring gets compressed and needs to be spread open again or replaced. Try prying the ring open more so it's a tighter fit down into the bore.

Click to expand...

OK...that is freaking hilarious...guessing we were one the same page........

Spreading was next where did you get the rebuild kit from

Mikes Canadian affiliate.

A socket, just small enough to fit the hole will push the snap ring evenly on all sides to [usually] seat that pesky little snap ring! It appears that yours needed a little help to get enough tension to spread into the groove......

JAX71224 said:

A socket, just small enough to fit the hole will push the snap ring evenly on all sides to [usually] seat that pesky little snap ring! It appears that yours needed a little help to get enough tension to spread into the groove......

Click to expand...

Once I spread it open a little more had no problem getting it in the groove with the snap ring pliers. I would not have been able to get it with the socket as I spread it much larger than the bore to make sure it fit snuggly.