Piston Assembly Removal Tool for Montblanc 252,4,6.

[happens]

I have a great old Montblanc 254 that leaks out the back past the piston. I need to remove the piston assembly.

In 2016, Fountainbel had this to say:

"The complete piston unit can be screwed out from the back.

Between the filling knob and the barrel is a small riffled ring .

After opening the filling knob completely- and using a dedicated set of pinchers - one should grip on the narrow riffled ring to screw the filler unit out, turning counter clock wise."

The riffles are narrowly spaced and the ring is very narrow. I've tried various ways to grip the narrow riffled ring, to no avail.

Question: how to obtain a "dedicated set of pinchers" to unscrew the piston unit?

Thanks!

[CS388]

Welcome to FPN

 

I couldn't find a set of pliers with small enough teeth to match the ring. I put a thick rubber band round the ring  (to protect it) and used regular pliers. It took a few attempts. I also needed to use heat (from a hair dryer). After heating and cooling the area a few times, the piston loosened and once it had moved, I could take it out the rest of the way, with my fingers.

 

On close inspection, there was some cosmetic damage to the ring, from the pliers on one of my attempts - but you really had to look for it, it wasn't very visible. And it was probably a result of my impatience, rather than anything else!

Simple rule: If nothing's moving, walk away. Come back and try again later. Never force it

 

Congratulations on your 254 - great pens!

 

Good luck.

[happens]

Thanks, Antique - good advice. I used a 1 inch section of 1/2 inch rubber tubing that I cut lengthwise to grip the ring, lined up so the edge of the rubber just overlapped the ring,  plus several iterations of patiently-applied heat - turned the ring by hand, it opened just fine.