Patent ID: 6971150

Claim:
A method of positing a seal in a groove in an axial bore of a housing comprising the steps of: initially placing a cylindrical seal on a projection that extends from a first end of a cylindrical body of a tool, said tool having first and second axial bores that located in an arcuate plane with respect to the axis of said cylindrical body and extending from said first end to a second end of said cylindrical body; inserting a first pin in said first axial bore such that an end thereon extends past the first end of said cylindrical body and said cylindrical seal; applying a radial force to said cylindrical seal to deform said cylindrical seal with respect to said projection and said end of first pin into an approximate C-shape, said C-shape cylindrical seal having an overall dimension that is smaller than a diameter of said cylindrical body; inserting a second pin in said second axial bore such that an end thereon extends past the first end of said cylindrical body to retain said cylindrical seal in said C-shape; inserting said cylindrical body with said cylindrical seal with said C-shape into said axial bore of said housing until said cylindrical seal is in radial alignment with said groove; removing said first and second pins from said cylindrical body such that said cylindrical seal resiliently expands from said C-shape to a circular shape to fill said groove; and retracting said cylindrical body from said axial bore to complete the installation of the seal in the housing.