Mini Circlips Method Removal

[jeremixogg]

Hello everybody, as I'm new to this forum.

I'm trying to restore an old tape player, a Phillips N4418.

I faced a problem, how is the method to remove those (very) mini circlips ?

[camtechman]

It's the type of circlip that requires a tool that spreads the two 'claw' ends of the circlip outward.

If you have a pair of long nose radio pliers that should do the job.

This type of circlip is also used on some motor cars & motor bikes.

Just google circlip pliers but note, they are available for different sizes of this type of circlip.

[Grubhead]

You will have to be real careful with the clip in the second picture if that is a white nylon plastic base it is on. I find in plastic this old that if you apply to much pressure the stud comes off from the base. That white nylon plastic is very prone to plastic corrosion. I once had a cassette deck which had it on the entire mechanism. One touch and it broke away. Needless to say the deck was a dead duck.

[stevehertz]

There are two types of external circlips. There are 'proper' engineering type circlips that encircle almost all of the spindle except for a small gap, and they have a hole in each end in which to insert the ends of external circlip pliers. However, the ones most commonly used on hifi equipments - chiefly on tape and cassette decks - are not these so often called circlips, but are 'E' clips. These are more skeletal in profile, they don't wrap around the spindle so much and are much easier to remove by inserting a jeweller's screwdriver into one of the small gaps opposite the open end and slowly, gently, prising it off whilst keeping finger and thumb around the clip to stop it flying across the room. You can buy mixed size sets of either type on auction sites for a few pounds.

[Goldieoldie]

One way to stop the circlips flying off and never to be found again is to drape a thin cloth over the area you are working on. Saves hours looking for it!

[M0TGX Terry]

If the unit you are working on is relatively small, work with it inside a plastic bag. Dismantling stuff this way has saved me hours of searching for springs, washers etc which would otherwise have launched themselves "to infinity and beyond", as Buzz Lightyear might say.Of course, it does mean I now spend ages looking for a suitable plastic bag before I can start dismantling 😕

[stevehertz]

If you've got your thumb and forefinger touching and over it tightly, it ain't going nowhere as you prise it off. Though admittedly it's not always possible to get a hold of it in that way.

[richrussell]

I tend to stick a blob of Blutak over E-clips before prising them off. Smaller ones tend to just sit in the Blutak, larger ones still ping off - but due to the extra weight don't go very far and are easier to spot Proper circlips of course stay on the pins on the end of my circlip pliers

. There are special tools for fitting and removing E-clips (and C-clips), but generally long nosed pliers and small screwdrivers work well enough if you're not dealing with hundreds.

[Radio_Dave]

I'm sure I've read a service manual which advised sticking a piece of sellotape over E clips before prising them off with a screwdriver... It sounds like it could work, although I've never tried it