I have an Izzo Alex Leva. I was worried that the group screen, which had gotten dirty on the bottom, might be dirty on the backside, inside the group. It was obvious to me that I had no way, with ordinary household tools, to remove the circlip that holds the screen in. I found a terrific dedicated tool for this: the Knipex 6-3/4 in. 90 Degree Angled Internal Circlip Pliers. I ordered them for pickup at my local Home Depot. $22.00. They lock right into the circlip's little holes and easily retract and remove the circlip. The screen falls out. Missioni accomplishioni, as they say in Napoli.

After 2 months of use and about 6 pulls per day, in fact the backside of the the screen was nearly clean. Good to know, right?

Nevertheless, with the right tool now in the drawer below the machine, I'm set.

And no, you may NOT borrow it. Get your own. Prego.

They are fairly cheap and easy to find. But a great tip nonetheless.

https://www.amazon.com/Grip-Pc-CirClip- ... lip+pliers

Did you stay with the original clip or switch to a stainless? It's been about 2 years but I had managed to convince Chris' Coffee to order a large quantity of them in stainless (special order from Italy), but they've apparently sold out since.

Finding metric stainless circlips of that size was quite a challenge. The only manufacturers in the US that I could source needed bulk purchasing in order to get them.

Since I have only had the machine a couple of months, I saw no need to replace it yet. I should, however, order a couple of stainless ones to have on hand. I will investigate and report. What I really want is a bottomless portafilter.