---
title: "Wrist Pin Locks: Different Styles and How To Install Them"
description: Tips, tricks, and technique to install wire locks in high performance pistons.
image: ?t=1515108478638#keepProtocol
---
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# [Wrist Pin Locks: Different Styles and How To Install Them](https://info.jepistons.com/wrist-pin-locks-different-types-and-how-to-install-them)
January 4, 2018 / by [Mike Magda](https://info.jepistons.com/author/mike-magda)
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*There are many ways to adhere the piston to the connecting rod and each have unique pros and cons. Here's a look at different piston lock types and how to correctly install them.*
Ask experienced engine builders to identify the most frustrating or aggravating step in the assembly process, and the likely consensus will be installing any style of those temperamental spring-loaded wrist-pin locks. They’re inexpensive, considering the workload placed on them, but these locks are crucial to an engine’s durability. If they fail, then any number of scenarios can follow, almost all of them catastrophic. To swear that these gruesome instruments of torture are cursed is not a sin. Yet, we must understand them to love them.
Let’s start with a few basics. There are three methods of attaching a piston to a connecting rod:
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/002-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**Shown from left to right are three popular styles of wrist-pin locks: snap ring, wire clip and Spirolocks.**
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/004-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**Experienced engine builders have developed their own styles of installing each type of pin retention design. For the circlip, one edge is started in the groove.**
- Full-floating pin—The pin pivots freely within both the little end of the connecting rod and the piston pin bosses. The wrist pin is held in check and kept from scratching the cylinder by one of two methods:
1. A spring-loaded lock on each side that secures the pin between the pin bosses (this can be a spirolock, circlip, round-wire lock, etc.
2. A pair of buttons that take up the space between pin and cylinder wall, keeping the pin centered in the pin bosses.
**Semi-Floating**
The press-fit semi-floating pin is prevalent in production engines, especially older models, while most high-performance engines use full-floating pistons.
“Press- fit pins require the rod to be heated, which is bad for the rod material from a heat-treat standpoint. Pressing requires equipment that floating pins do not,” explains Alan Stevenson. “There’s difficulty of assembly and disassembly. Also, floating pins are naturally centered in the piston, which assures even loading. It’s a pain to perfectly center a pressed pin.”
On the downside, free-floating pistons require those nasty locks. But hardly any solution is achieved without some complication. The majority opinion about wrist-pin locks is that they solve more problems than they create. But what about pin buttons? They’re as easy to install as pushrods.
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/017-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**Pin buttons are another means to secure the wrist pin. They install on either side of the wrist in bore interlocking with the oil rail.**
**Pin Buttons**
“Buttons are popular in certain classes of drag racing, due to ease of assembly and disassembly, such as between races in Top Fuel. Outside of drag racing, a lot of people don’t even know about them,” says Stevenson, adding that buttons are also considerably more expensive than locks. “On the downside, buttons are free to rotate and therefore are not considered the best solution for supporting the oil ring when the pin hole intersects the oil ring groove. Buttons are also heavier.”
Pin buttons have also earned a sour reputation for wiping oil off the cylinder wall and possibly scoring the metal surface—or at least scraping the oil in that location and allowing grit or carbon buildup to dig into the wall. They’re best left to applications where the engines are serviced frequently.
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/007-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**The Spirolocks has spawned legendary stories of agony, but many engine builders have developed quick and reliable methods of installing them. One of the best tips is to separate the coils slightly. Many applications call for double locks, so you’ll have to prepare 32 Spirolocks on a V8 engine.**
**Wrist-Pin Locks and Types**
That leaves wrist-pin locks if you’re going to use a free-floating wrist pin, which nearly all high-performance applications do. These are spring-type fasteners designed to provide an interference fit in a groove machined at the edge of each pin boss. The locks keep the wrist pin centered within the pin bosses while allowing for rotation. The elasticity of the lock allows them to be deformed in some manner for installation and removal.
There are three types used in automotive engines—snap ring or Tru Arc; Spirolock; and the wire lock or circlip, which is offered in at least three different designs. The last two styles are the most popular with performance engine builders.
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/006-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**Snap rings or Tru Arc retainers require special pliers for installation. Just insert the tabs on the pliers into the holes on each end of the retainer, apply pressure to the pliers to compress the retainer, then install in the groove.**
Snap Rings
Generally Tru Arcs are the easiest to install and are more popular in lighter duty applications. The snap ring or Tru Arc is easily installed using dedicated pliers. The tips of these pliers fit into the holes at the ends of the snap ring. When the pliers handles are squeezed, the snap ring compresses enough to firmly seat into the retaining groove on the piston. A word of caution: snap rings are manufactured with a smooth and rough side. Be sure the smooth side faces the wrist pin. Also, install the snap ring with the open end pointing down.
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/010-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**The Lock-in tool is designed to install Spirolocks with minimal handling of the wire. The tool has different heads dedicated for specific wrist-pin sizes. The first step is wrapping the Spirolocks around the groove and positioning the end on the index mark.**
Spirolocks
The Spirolocks—sometimes referred to simply as a spiral retaining ring—are constructed of flat stainless-steel wire wound into a spiral or small coil. They’re very effective at securing the wrist pins; but when stretched out for installation their sharp edges are exposed. “Spirolocks are the cheapest but are difficult to install and disassemble,” says Stevenson.
Many pistons require two Spirolocks on each side, doubling the installation time. There are probably as many different ways to install Spirolocks as there are engine builders. Using jewelers’ screwdrivers to dental tools, experienced mechanics have developed a number of personal tricks to avoid sliced skin as well as speed up the installation process. There are also some dedicated spirolock tools.
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/012-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**Once the leading edge is inside the groove, the tool is turned counterclockwise to install the lock on the first side of the piston. Lock-in also has tool heads for dedicated sizes to help install circlips.**
A Spirolock is installed by spreading it apart slightly. A leading edge is positioned inside the piston’s retention groove, then the coils are literally spun or walked into place inside the groove. Some engine builders prefer using their fingers, but most use one or two small flat-head screwdrivers to massage the spiral wire into the retention groove.
There are also dedicated tools such as the [Lock-in tool](http://www.lockintool.com) from Precision Engine Service. It’s designed to install a Spirolock without having to handle the sharp edges. The Spirolock does have to be spread apart to fit in the grooves of the tool. The tool is positioned in the piston to start the leading edge of the Spirolock into the retention groove. The tool is then rotated counterclockwise until the Spirolock is properly seated in the groove.
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/003-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**The snap ring and Spirolocks must be used with wrist pins that have a flat face and the appropriate retaining groove in the piston pin boss. The circlip uses a wrist pin with a chamfered edge, right, and also must be used in the correct groove.**
**Pins Designed For Lock Types**
Although the three different types of wrist-pin locks are not meant to be interchangeable, the retention grooves machined for Spirolocks and snap rings are similar. Tru Arcs, or snap rings, and Spirolocks must also be used with wrist pins that have flat edges.
“The grooves are different shapes and dimensions, however Tru Arcs can be used interchangeably with Spirolocks of the same thickness,” says Stevenson.
Circlips, however, must be used with chamfered wrist pins. The retention grooves on the pin bosses must be designed with a small relief machined on the edge of the groove. Sometimes this relief or notch is used to help facilitate removal. Or it can be used to properly position a certain design of wire clip.
**Tips and tricks for wrist-pin locks**
**Getting Right with Wire Locks**
“Wire locks are the best overall solution from a reliability standpoint as any side-to-side forces exerted by the pin serve to further seat the lock into its groove,” says Stevenson.
Wire locks are by far the most common lock type for high-performance pistons and come in three popular styles for automotive use (there are more that can be found in industrial and motorcycle engines). There’s the basic open-end clip that resembles a “C.” This lock can be installed with bare fingers or a mix of screwdrivers and picks, depending on the whims of the engine builder.
[](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/014-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg) [](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/015-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg) [](https://info.jepistons.com/hubfs/JE%20Pistons/TECH/Wire%20Locks/016-piston-lock-types-installation-techniques.jpg)
**To assemble a full-floating piston and rod combo, first install one of the locks. Next, lube the connecting rod's bushing and insert the wrist pin. The final step is installing the lock on the opposite side.**
A modified version of the wire clip has up-swept tangs on each end that have a similar function as the holes on a snap ring. This allows a dedicated pliers for installation. This style is more popular with OEM applications than performance engines.
Engine builders generally develop a favorite style of wrist-pin lock over years of experience. Again, the two most popular with performance engines are the Spirolocks and wire clip or circlip. There is no research or data indicating that one is stronger or better designed than the other. It basically comes down to a choice by the engine builder. However, the piston manufacturer must be informed of this choice because the retention groove is machined differently and the correct wrist pin must be used.
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