was this a bad thing, or an indication of over-wear? Basically I needed (and used) a slidehammer to extract them. My book said it could easily be done with a small length of tube -hooked @ end-; well, no dice for me. Just wondering if this is typical for EA82's and whether or not I need to consider replacement of things..

 

also I am a bit concerned about having scratch & scored up the bearing housing that's integral to the piston for the wrist pin. I can see some light scuffs and scratches, but no trenches. Anyone have advice on this? thanks a lot in advance

If they are difficult to remove, it's generally not horrible. Deposits build up on the pin between the rod and the piston, making initial removal difficult. If they are still hard to push in or out after the deposits are cleaned off (use fine emory cloth coated in oil), then you've got a problem.

 

In most of the engines I've had apart, the pins needed a little encouragement to come out.

Its no problem if they are stiff, they pivot on the con rod on these engines anyway.

alright, cool. I'll polish the surfaces then see what I'm dealing with fitment-wise.