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After watching all the OE videos of the Pharos again yesterday (I placed my order on Wed), I watched the videos of the Cremina group rebuild --which I knew I needed because some dribbles of water had started to form on the top of the group. Inspired by the video (and having purchased all the seals and tools some time ago in anticipation of this day), I woke up early this AM (armed with a french press full of Harar Longberry coffee I roasted the day before last) and set to work. Check out the old parts that I removed -especially the snap ring (circled in red) that seems to have failed entirely:
My wife asked me how I would know if the rebuild was a success (other than if the espresso came out well) and I told her that (first) the dribbles should be gone and that (second) about 15 minutes after I turn the machine off, the lever arm should rise of its own accord (thus indicating the seals are so tight as to not allow the pressure to escape):
What I wasn't prepared for was how differently the machine would feel. Where as before pushing the lever down had been a struggle it now feels like a hot knife moving through butter (no doubt due to the Dow 111 I had smeared on the piston seals).
I could not have done this w/o Doug and Barb's instructional videos and the satisfaction of having done this job myself made the espresso that much sweeter :-)
matthew