The E-clips sued to hold on mant brake cylinders are notoriously difficult to instal. David Bandel submitted the following idea to make the whole process easier.

I used the new lift this past weekend to do the brakes on the Midget and had a heck of a time with the new rear wheel brake cylinder circlips. It looks like the newer cylinders come with thicker circlips which are exponentially harder to get on with just pliers. Since this topic pops up every now and again, I figured I would share the product of my "puttering" around without the right tools (and no money)...

Called around to my usual tool places and the only one who even stocked an install tool like this wanted $50 and could have it by next Friday, or I could pay $30 online (plus another $12 S&H), so barring that I figured I could make one out of scraps in the spare tools and junk parts bin. This is what I was trying to find commercially if you don't know what I'm talking about:

This is what I came up with on the cheap:

This is (from left to right):

Old spring (cut) from a Midget clutch master cylinder. 3/8" inch drive, 3/8" socket (stepped) that has been ground down in length. The major diameter of the socket is identical to the shank diameter on the back of the brake cylinder. 16MM 12 point deep socket, also cut down in length and drilled to .628" ID. This allows the small socket (and the brake cylinder shank) to just fit inside. 3/8-24 bolt (threads cut higher up the shank for more "travel" when the nut is cranked down).

Use a small hammer to "load" the circlip onto the socket:

Assemble the parts. The spring, which you can't see here, is up inside the 16mm socket to provide tension between the small socket and the brake cylinder shank. Otherwise the circlip will "snap" into place between the socket and the cylinder shank and NOT in the groove on the shank:

I also drilled a safety wire hole in the head of the bolt and used it to tension up the spring. This exposes the threads on the tool to make it easier to thread into the back of the wheel cylinder:

thread the tool fully into the back of the brake cylinder then remember to remove the safety wire (if you used it):

Adjust the "clock position" of the circlip so that it does not interfere with the bleed nipple or other objects then crank down on the nut. This will force the larger socket over the smaller one, forcing the circlip over the shank of the brake cylinder and down into the clip retention groove. You should hear it "snap" into place. Once done, remove tool:

Worked like a charm, so this one is definitely going in the toolbox.

-David