Snap ring pliers for a turbo rebulid?

[laddy]

I need a set of snap ring piers that are long and thin for an internal snap ring. The snap rings are very small and the grove for it is about 2.5 inches deep into the hole that is roughly .75 around. None of the snap ring pliers(hf cheapies) I have have a long enough reach or are thin enough even with grinding.

Turbo cartage for visualization bushing is all the way in the back and has to be installed from the front.

https://imgur.com/BojYJ4X

Was looking at these few but am not sure how thick the jaws are.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UHUD84/?tag=atomicindus08-20

These ones look good but would need to be straightened from reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UM7CUO0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[redmondjp]

I needed something similar, in order to remove the parking brake mechanism out of a rear brake caliper on a 1996 Passat.

I sacrificed one pair of my HF extra-long-nose pliers, carefully grinding down the tips until they were the right size for the holes in the snap ring. They worked great and I still have them for the next time I need them. Cost me about $4 since those pliers came in a set, and about 10 minutes on the grinder.

 

[laddy]

I had a pair sitting right next to the turbo for a week while I've been looking for the "correct" pliers. I'll pickup a extra set and grind them and try them, thanks for the idea. Don't know how I didn't think of that, I'll update tomorrow only way I see it not working is if the pins that engage the snap ring bend.

 

[Wamsutta]

Will these work?

https://ehardware77.ecrater.com/p/10475029/extra-long-retaining-ring-pliers#

 

[laddy]

Those look the same as the second amazon link I posted. According to the reviews they aren't straight, they have an angle to the fingers,which would make them non-usable to for me.

 

[redmondjp]

Just a caution on grinding the tips of the pliers - you want just a bit of concave (curved in, with an edge on the tips) as opposed to a convex (rounded) shape on the tips, so they engage with the snap ring and the ring ends don't want to slide off the tips. Also look at how far the plier tips have to be apart from each other in order to engage with the clip, and take that angle into account when you shape the tips.

Necessity is the mother of invention. I didn't want to pay $180 for a rebuilt brake caliper; the O-ring I replaced on the parking brake shaft wasn't available as a part of the caliper rebuild kit (boy did that make me mad) so I got one from an industrial supplier and had to figure out how to get the assembly apart to install it.