I bought a millennium LPE on ebay about 1 year ago. It looked clean enough that I suppose the original owner didn't use it much. I use the Europiccola a few times a week, and have been very happy with it. I have not cleaned or serviced it at all, except for cleaning the screen after each use. Recently, I've noticed two things that make me suspect it's time for a serious disassembly/cleaning and perhaps new gaskets. One is that when I move the piston up and down now it's making some unpleasant sounds: kind of a squeak and grating sound combined. The other is that the water that comes out when I preheat the head by sending water through (again, with the piston) has some coffee ground particles in it, and the portafilter then needs to be cleaned out of what gets stuck there before proceeding with the shot. It's not a lot, but clearly noticeable. Does this sound like I just need to disassemble and clean, or should I plan on doing more than just that?

You are likely to be shocked by the "gunk" inside the group. You probably will not need new seals or gaskets, though you might. It is NOT a major task to take apart the group on these machines. You need a "circlip pliers" to remove the little clips on the lever pins. (I threw my clips away and replaced them with 6mm brass rods on which I have cut M6x1 threads with a die. I have "acorn" nuts on each side of these rods.)

It takes more time to clean the parts than it does to disassemble and reassemble. I like to put all the parts onto a large soup bowl as I take them off.

Bad water can sometimes cause deposits inside the group. This is likely to damage the piston seals if too bad. Check the cylinder walls, third generation La Pavonis have a plastic liner which can become damaged.

I like to clean everything in a sink with regular dish soap and hot water. Others like using special coffee detergent. However, you can rinse and remove all detergent residues, and regular dish soap is very good for removing really stubborn "gunk". I also like to have 190 proof ethanol available when I do this. (You can get it in a rum shop as "Everclear".) This is especially good at removing old silicone grease. Be sure to use the recommended silicone grease for internal parts, but high quality hydrocarbon grease for the lever pins and roller.

There IS a learning curve, the first time you do the servicing it will take longer than when you know what you are doing! To me an appropriate service interval is 3 months, and when the lever develops any resistance I service sooner. Even with a three month interval the inside of the group can have a disgusting look to it!

I just did a group head clean and rebuild a couple weeks ago. You can read all about it here:

La Pavoni Europiccola grouphead bolt snapped - Help!

I found this link invaluable:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Ymz8YJpcE

In short, I would go ahead and buy the group head rebuild kit from either Orphan Espresso or Stephano. Stephano's has all the gaskets, including the c-clip, washer and gasket for the piston rod. You may not need new gaskets, but if you do it's better to have them on hand. You'll need them sooner or later. Also get some lube.

For cleaning I used Joe Glo, which worked great. Be prepared, the inside may be dirtier than you think. My dispersion screen looked like it had been dipped in tar and left in the sun. Good Luck -- this is easier than it sounds.

Thanks to you both! I will report back once I've given this a go.

I also re-lube my LP about every 3 months. Here is what I do to keep my screen clean and avoid any gunk in the cylinder. I always get clean clear water when I do any flushes. I realize this is not something that everyone will like and that's fine, but at least for me I truthfully don't see any downside or negative effect on my espresso :

I cut out circles from #4 cone coffee filters. I trace around my tamper with a pencil, arranged so I get 4 circles, then stack 4 filters and cut them out with a scissors for a 32 per stack. I usually do 2 stacks in about 10-15 minutes which last me at least a month. I place one paper filter on top of the tamped coffee in the portafilter. Important to note that the coffee is not getting filtered in any way. After the shot when I remove the portafilter, my screen is perfectly clean so it saves the time otherwise taken to use a brush. Also the top of the knocked out puck is always flat and uniform. Despite the time to cut out and use the filters, they are a net time saver, and the cost is negligible.

Rich