Hi Gil,
I just put them on top of the housing, then place a finger half over the circlip and use a stout pair of tweezers to nip in the circlip. Push down with finger and tweezers until the circlip falls into place.
  I NEVER have problem putting them back in, I near always manage to loose them when I take them OUT!

Regards,

Andrew.

      Thanks a lot fellow's, got the clip in this A.M., now I have anudder question, what kind of reed's do you use teflon, steel or some other, and where do you get them?
  Again thanks, Gil

BTW when I am dealing with something fiddely and springey like a reed retainer or the circlip on a Medallion needle, I work inside a plastic bag.  The ones from dry-cleaners are huge and very transparent.

             The stainless reed works well but it can also be deformed easily. It gives good performance numbers. It will become distorted from use over time. The clear Mylar reed in my opinion works extremely well. Problem with the Mylar is it becomes short lived as it wants to get sucked into the venturi opening and distorts no longer sealing. The Teflon reed works, but I had some problems with this one as well. For starters, when I put my Teflon reed in I hadn't noticed that two were stuck together. The circlip never engaged fully and during a screaming run the clip came out. The clip almost came through the side of the crankcase. It's hard to imagine that it could do that. One problem with the Mylar reed is that during dormant periods, they get glued down due to the castor. They're my reed of choice though. Place a syringe on the back of the venturi with the plunger retracted. Push the plunger down and make sure air flows in then try and retract it making sure the reed is operating. I've found several reeds that wouldn't seal by doing so. Fixing it is as easy as flipping it over. This can save a lot of headaches. Ken

         Hello Andrew, I agree with your findings as well. I do like the Mylar reed despite it's short lived life. The stainless is more durable. I actually liked the old style beryllium copper reeds aside from the fact they were so fragile. It only took a set of ham hands to botch one of those up. I recall when they came in the overhaul kit bags, they were loose inside. They sometimes got damaged in the bag before you opened them.  I certainly never achieved the so called rpm numbers that the Teflon supposedly offered over conventional reeds. I did notice that they do have a good service life. After my engine is assembled I keep that syringe close by. I close the needle valve all the way down and pressurize the tank. You can almost pinpoint leaks by listening. A bad venturi o ring will give immediate hissing at the screen. You might be surprised how many other air leaks you can nail down. The screws are quite difficult to seal and they nearly all leak. On metal back plates, I found just replacing the screws with new ones can give positive results.

Tanks leak where they meet the backplate, this can be problematic at times. As many of us dislike the plastic backplates, I've found them to leak the least amount. The screws seem to seal the best in these but distortion can take place if overtightened. Not only do you have to look for leaks around the needle threads, but you have to check around the threaded insert as well. Ken

Hello Ken & Doc,
The leaks and sticking reeds are what I term "Cox misery"! When they are leak free and have a good reed, then the Cox reedies are a joy to use. It is the dratted leaks that got me down about a year ago. I almost gave up on the little critters. Now I do a rebuild session and replace all the known nasties at one fell swoop, usually about 10 engines at a time! I also use some silicone sealent on the screws as per Doc's recommendations. Once, when I ran out of o-rings, I used the old ones with a touch of silicone. Not to be recommended, but it does work if you are stuck for parts, provided you use the barest minimum.
Since I have started to maintain my fleet on a regular basis, the "Cox misery" has gone away and I am very happy with the results of regular and careful rebuilds. So is my grandson, who is the main user of the fleet!

Hello Ken,
My mistake, I actually use a product called Hylomer, which is intended to be a gasket replacement / substitution used on car engines and the like. This stuff is actually blue and does stand up to alcohol quite well. From the awful acetic acid smell of most curing silicones, I can well understand the corrosion problems.
Glad you corrected me, don't want to lead people into bad solutions!

Regards,

Andrew.

Goop adhesive does not cause corrosion and is extremely fuelproof. I use it to glue tubes into small bottles to make tanks.

Goop adhesive does not cause corrosion and is extremely fuelproof. I use it to glue tubes into small bottles to make tanks.

15 years ago when I was racing electric boats we used Goop to seal the electronics because it didn't corrode the electronics.  Also it is a glue that holds very well.  Good to know it is also fuel proof.