La Pavoni: Replace gaskets in lever coffee machines

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The gaskets on these machines need to be replaced from time to time as they are subject to heavy wear. This repair is not very difficult.

The repair is shown on the Professional model, but is basically the same for all these machines. Replacing the boiler gasket is not shown.

The two M14 cap nuts at the top of the piston rod are locked against each other. Hold the lower nut in place with an open-end wrench and unscrew the upper nut.
When reassembling, make sure that the lower nut still has some downward play. For this, you can insert a small flat-head screwdriver under the nut before locking the upper nut against the lower one.
Remove both nuts and keep them in a safe place.

The lever arm is mounted with two pins, which are secured on both sides with a ring pin. It's sufficient to loosen one side.
When reassembling, make sure that the rear hole is higher.
Push the two ring pins out of their grooves on one side, using a suitable tool. Be careful not to scratch the chrome finish, so it's best to use a plastic tool. Remove the rings.
Push the pins out. The lever is now ready to be removed.
The rear pin slides into a metal tube. Push it out and keep it in a safe place.

The unit is attached to the boiler with two M10 hexagon screws. Unscrew the two screws.
Remove the unit.
Pay attention to the riser pipe. You can carefully unscrew it. Replace the black sealing plug during reassembly if necessary.

Now remove the large gasket on the sieve, using a suitable tool. Work extra carefully, so you don't damage the metal surfaces.
When reassembling, pay attention to how the gasket is positioned; it is not symmetrical, the flat side is on the outside.
You can also push the ring out together with the sieve using the piston, but this is quite difficult.

Remove both lip gasket rings on the piston.
Be mindful of the direction when assembling: The lip always points to the pressure side, so for the upper gasket it points up, and for the lower one it points down.
Picture 3 shows the clean piston with two new gaskets.

The piston rod inside the cylinder is sealed with a silicone lip gasket. To replace it, you must first loosen the circlip. This is a bit tricky, so special circlip pliers are a big help.
Make sure the metal surfaces are not damaged.
Press both holes on the circlip together. You can then remove the ring from its groove.
There is a perforated brass disc under the circlip, and a silicone gasket under that. Remove the brass disc. Use a plastic tool to push the silicone gasket out from the other side.
Here too, the lips face the pressure side, i.e. into the cylinder.

Here are the new rings:
Gasket on the sieve
Gasket between the unit and boiler
Two piston rings
Brass disc, silicone gasket and circlip on the piston rod
Clean each part thoroughly. If you notice limescale in the boiler, now is a good time to remove it.
Lightly grease the new sealing rings and sliding parts with food-safe silicone and reassemble everything.