So do most motors retain the bell housings with a screw or a snap ring?  I went to remove the sand from Spedix motors and discovered the bell housings are retained by snap rings.  Is there a preferred tool for these snap rings?  Or are Spedix the only ones that retain bell housings this way?  If it's a Spedix thing, I'll just buy other than Spedix motors.

I loathe c-clips, they always bend and pop off to undisclosed locations. However, you can remove with pliers or floss, yes floss. You can take two pieces of floss to each end of the clip to pop it out. I would do this in a large ziplock bag to avoid losing the clip. You may bend it a little but can form it back with some pliers/hammer and a flat surface. I’ve done this a few times but the life of the c clip is limited so I would eventually look to motor bells with a screw to hold in place for easier cleaning.

I think the higher end motors tend to have screws and budget have clips. Clips were the main retainer at the beginning, but a lot of motors are getting screws.

To remove, I usually use a small flathead screw and push the clips out.

Thanks for the feedback.....surprised there aren't snap ring pliers for these. My automotive ones were too large. I will be sure that I only buy screw types for future builds. My T-motors have screws, thankfully.

I was truely impressed to see 2 extra c-clips come with the new DYS budget motors ($10 US). I really dont trust reusing a c-clip and was glad to see them for my friends build. Personally I much rather enjoy having a screw for easy cleaning. It has come in handy a few times on my Emax motors