I am reassembling the top end of my Banshee, and have a few questions that I hope you guys can help with.

The manual refers to a rubber coolant plug under each cylinder, I didn't see one in mine when I disassembled it. Of course mine was already .020" over, so I am assuming that this plug is not needed, correct?

Also, the cylinder gaskets only have a sealing surface on one side, and that requires that one cylinder has the sealing surface up, the other down. Is this ok?

Finally, my piston kit came with snap rings instead of the wire clips, which makes it easier to install (using snap ring pliers). The instructions recommend that the opening of the snap ring goes up. No problem on the first piston, the clips were snug and didn't move freely once seated. The other pistons clips move with just my finger, I can spin them around to where the opening is at the bottom where the recess in the side of the piston is located. Is this ok?

I am hoping that all of this is normal, and I am just being retentive.

Any help is greatly appreciated,
Dean

 

I wrote this once this morning, but the site was having problems and it didn't go through. Here goes again.

The plugs are about 1/4 inch wide and 1.5 inch long. The are made of black rubber and are located on the bottom side of the base flange between the sleeve and the front of the jug. If they are missing, there will be a large opening and you can see into the water jacket. I have never tried to run one without the plug, but I would say it is best to use them.

Your gaskets are correct. One will be up and the other is down.

I hate the snap rings because they never seem to be tight enough. I bought a banshee that had these and one set of snap rings were tight, and the other set was loose, just as you described. It made me cringe when I saw it. The gap must be at the top away from the notch in the wrist pin bore. This is also the proper placement if you are using circlips.

 

Thanks for the reply (even if it took two times of typing it to get it on the forum).

I got the plugs yesterday and got the whole top end back together, even with the clips being a bit loose on one cylinder. I spoke with at least three different techs and different shops/dealerships, and they all said that it was ok for the clips to be able to move around, as long as the clips wouldn't pop out if you pushed on the wrist pin.

I imagine, and hope, that this will be ok! I will be firing it up for the first time next week, so hopefully all will be fine.

Thanks,
Dean