spiral locks for TRW pistons

I need locks for my crate engine TRW pistons with a 1.040 pin. Talked to Probe tech. and they have them but not sure if the groove is the same dimensions as the TRW. Also talked to Sean at B.F. Evans and he has none. Jegs only list for a big block Chevy. Need some help guys. Thanks and Merry Christmas to all.

TRW........they may not be s. locks.......true-archs?

I am not really sure. There is a groove for them but it doesn't look like a machined groove.

Can you measure the width of the groove?

Pistons are at the machine shop getting the rods pressed off. As soon as I get them back I can.

514Fox87 wrote:I need locks for my crate engine TRW pistons with a 1.040 pin. Talked to Probe tech. and they have them but not sure if the groove is the same dimensions as the TRW. Also talked to Sean at B.F. Evans and he has none. Jegs only list for a big block Chevy. Need some help guys. Thanks and Merry Christmas to all.

What is the part number of the pistons? The early A514 crate motors came with TRW pistons that had a 0.990 pin, not 1.040". So which pistons specifically you are talking about? I have fit and successfully run Spirolox in Ford-by-TRW pistons in the past, using a specific Spirolox part number that worked well for the machined clip groove in the Ford-by-TRW pistons.

Paul

This was supposed to be a 514 when I bought it but only was a 460. The pistons are D3J3-6110-AA stamped on top of piston with TRW underneath. I will be calling shortly Paul about the oil pumps.

514Fox87 wrote:This was supposed to be a 514 when I bought it but only was a 460. The pistons are D3J3-6110-AA stamped on top of piston with TRW underneath. I will be calling shortly Paul about the oil pumps.

Okay so based on the piston part number, I think I know (but I am not positive) what your clip groove is going to look like.

You might need the standard Ford 460 1.040" pin applicable Spirolox, part number 062-042-CS or equivalent. Supplier could be through J & E, or maybe Mark O'Neal can get you a set, or maybe a few people here have broken sets sitting around.

Normally in high perfomance piston applications, the clip groove width is such that you will need 32 Spirolox clips (4 per piston/2 per side). However, if the clip grooves are the way that I think they are in those D3J3-6110-AA pistons (about 0.045" wide instead of about 0.085" wide), then you need to purchase a set of 32 but only use 16 of them because you will be able to install only 1 Spirlox per side (2 per piston). The snug fit (the clip width filling the clip groove width) is what's important here, so if your clip grooves are actually wide enough for 2 clips per side afterall, then use 2 clips per side.

We got oil pumps ready to go.

Paul

I'll get you as many as you need.

But....................if the rods are getting pressed off, why do you need locks?

The rods in the engine are stock truck rods. I am putting Eagle H-beam in that have a floating pin and don't want to change pistons if I don't need to.

514Fox87 wrote:Pistons are at the machine shop getting the rods pressed off. As soon as I get them back I can.

514Fox87 wrote:The rods in the engine are stock truck rods. I am putting Eagle H-beam in that have a floating pin and don't want to change pistons if I don't need to.

Better hope they don't damage one pressing them off, check them close!

did'nt the trw's use a snapring looken kinda deal? i had some a long time ago and i know that's what i ran in them,just cant remember if they came with them.

cool40 wrote:did'nt the trw's use a snapring looken kinda deal? i had some a long time ago and i know that's what i ran in them,just cant remember if they came with them.

Speed Pro changed all the TRW full floating piston designs so as to use a round wire circlip fitted into a radiussed clip groove. Before that, the TRW pistons were indeed manufactured with a square-cut clip groove and those clip grooves were designed to accomodate 2 snap-rings per side. (In the case of the 460, we would be talking specificially about the L2443 dome-top...to which I bet you are also specifically referring in your engine combo of past.)

Those Tru-Arc snap-rings needed to be installed into the square-cut clip grooves in a very specific manner, and in a very specific configuration. Many people were unaware of the importance of these installation details and so the clips were regulary installed incorrectly and sometimes lost in the engine due to the ignorance excercised during engine assembly.

It just so happens that those older design TRW pistons, with that particular square-cut clip groove design in question, also coincidentally accomodate the two Spirolox per side (4 per piston) in the part number that I noted above.

But I suspect that the D3J3-6110-AA pistons in the older 460 crate motors do not have that particular square-cut clip groove design (width) that we are talking about, and that only one Spriolox can be fit on either side of the piston pin. However this is only speculation so let's wait and see what the clip groove width is before drawing any conclusions....

Paul

that's what i was thinking Paul.the "snap rings" had a realy sharp side and a rounded side,the best i can recall.they were sure a lot easier to get in and out than the newer kind.lol

Just got back from the machine shop and the best we can tell is the groove is .060 wide. We put a 1.064 dia. snap ring in it and it was loose, but didn't have a way to measure groove depth accurately.

cool40 wrote:that's what i was thinking Paul.the "snap rings" had a realy sharp side and a rounded side,the best i can recall.they were sure a lot easier to get in and out than the newer kind.lol

• Rounded sides facing each other (sharp sides facing out and away from each other)
  
• 1 clip opening at 6 o'clock, the other clip opening at 12 o'clock

Paul

514Fox87 wrote:Just got back from the machine shop and the best we can tell is the groove is .060 wide. We put a 1.064 dia. snap ring in it and it was loose, but didn't have a way to measure groove depth accurately.

Those clips are 0.042" wide and intended for a 0.045" clip groove width. Can you fit two clips cleanly and securely into the groove?

We have succesfully used that size clip in the Ford-by-TRW D3JE-6110 460 Marine flat tops, floating rods, 1 clip per side (they would not accept two per side) 5000 rpm sustained, zero problems. We did this with two sets of those pistons (2 different engines) and they are still out there running on the lakes several years later. That being said, I do not recall them feeling loose in the clip grooves, and that portion of your statement raises my eyebrows.

What do you mean by "loose?" Is it that you can forcefully push them against the groove wall? Or do they freely flop around in the clip grooves? If so, then I would not trust them. Incidentally, piston pin clip grooves may be added to/modified on your pistons by a good machine shop. I would suggest at least getting the physical dimensions of the clip grooves before going any further and make a wise decision based on accurate dimensional data.

Paul

By loose I mean the O.D. of the clip needs to be bigger then the 1.064 O.D. clip we tried. Going to do some more looking, and research.

514Fox87 wrote:By loose I mean the O.D. of the clip needs to be bigger then the 1.064 O.D. clip we tried. Going to do some more looking, and research.

There's a 1.080" OD x 0.042" spiral clip out there.