Hello,

After a while reading espresso literature and this forum, I have finally registered today following the purchase of a rancilio silvia v2 (2008 according to serial).
The machine is not in a bad state but overall pretty dirty so I have yet to pull a shot out of it. The previous owner told me that it is functional but leaks from the group head and steam wand and presumably hasn't been used since he bought a newer silvia.

The plan over the next couple of days is to order what I will need to replace and essentially dismantle everything to give it a good scrub and get to know the machine while I wait for the parts. I have already found very interesting technical information in silvia threads on the forum but I would like to have some recommendations regarding what I should do while the machine is completely stripped.

So far I plan to order the following:
- group head gasket and shower filter
- boiler gasket (still wondering if I should open it to check the state of it)
- blind basket and cafiza for backflushing
- pump rubber mounting brackets
- possibly a new steam knob as it doesn't seem to fit properly

------ EDIT ------
I will sum up my mistakes and the advice that was given to me here for future readers.
- Before anything, take pictures of the entire disassembly process, better have more than not enough
- Number every electric connector inside the machine and take more pictures
- Before ordering spare parts, cleanup and descale everything to avoid replacing what doesn't need to
- Protip on emptying the boiler cleanly Yet another Rancilio Silvia restoration thread
- If opening the boiler, be prepared to drill in the event that the screws snap
- If opening the boiler, replace the gasket and the screws with stainless
- If opening the pump, be careful with the little teflon ball at the end of it
- It can be challenging to get the parts in europe without going through customs. I ordered successfully from https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/ and https://www.maxicoffee.com/
- Might sound stupid, but when rewiring, make sure you use your own pictures don't make mistakes with other pictures with different numbering you might have found online
- The high pressure side of the pump might need some very strong tightening and maybe a couple of turns of teflon tape

Here is the parts list and the providers I used (in europe, excluding UK because of customs):
I could have saved half the price on parts if I did a bit of research before hand and didn't mess up my steam valve o rings and lost the little teflon ball in the pump ! Be careful with those when disassembling.
------ ------ ------

Are there other things you think I should do ? I have seen many silvias covered in insulation. Is it worth doing while I'm at it ?

I wouldn't bother with the boiler gasket unless you see signs of a leak at the gasket. Then I would replace it. I wouldn't take the entire thing apart, just clean while together. If you take something apart, you risk introducing new leaks. I would replace the group head gasket. Probably cleaning the shower filter is sufficient and you don't actually need one. I'd consider descaling if there is reason to worry about scale. The rubber mount doesn't look so great.

Also, I would operate it on a plug with a GFCI at least initially.

I bough my 2009 Silvia specifically to do the full refurb (quarantine/pandemic hobby)
Fully disassembled and cleaned descaled in citric acid, all new gaskets, o-rings, new pump etc.
https://imgur.com/a/8Ftw051
Later I even insulated the boiler and replaced old wiring.

Silvia is quite simple and you only need basic tools and some free time.
Probably the biggest issue I run into were rusted boiler screws that snapped off (replaced with stainless)

All this said, your Silvia just looks dirty and you can get her up and running without doing what I did
(as long as you don't find any leaks)

Group head gasket, pump, assortment of o-rings were the only brand new parts I bought. Everything else just cleaned.

Thanks for the replies.

vuli, it is indeed the same for me. I've been looking for a while for a simple espresso machine to refurbish to get to know the espresso making process and this silvia showed up a couple of days ago for a pretty decent price. It is my first espresso equipment which should explain some of my naive questions and why I don't have any cafiza.

Today I have done what brian suggested and started with a good cleaning. There was dried coffee gunk absolutely baked everywhere in the group head. which took an hour to clean before I could fit the gasket back in properly. Waiting for cafiza to arrive, I cleaned the tank, portafilter, shower assembly and steam wand with vinegar and baking soda which worked perfectly, no need to replace those.

The tank, steam wand and even the tubes to some extent were completely covered in scale, which leads me to believe it was not really cared for, possibly never even descaled. Now I'm even more interested in opening the boiler to check out the state, but not before I get replacement screws and something to pull them out if they snap.

Aside from that, I rewired the buttons without the front panel and took it for a test drive so I could check for leaks. The good news is that there aren't any except where the portafilter goes in the group head. I am most likely responsible for puncturing it too hard when removing it to clean. New gasket is on the way so I will deal with that later.

I did manage to technically pull out a shot out of sacrificial beans, but it didn't work out too well considering my baratza encore can't seem to grind fine enough. I will try again when I get my hand grinder I left at work.

While testing it, I also checked the pressure/OPV adjustment using the method that consists in measuring how much water gets out in 30 seconds. I haven't done the math myself to check if this is right, but it seems to be spot on 130ml/9 bars so I won't be fiddling with this anymore for now.

With everything off, I have noticed that my frame is slightly bent. It doesn't look like it fell as I can't see any impact anywhere. Not sure yet how I'm going to correct this. Any tips are welcome.

So, curiosity got me and I ended up stripping the whole machine, including the boiler
When removing the ground connector on the boiler screw, I realised it was barely tightened, so I proceeded without any resistance to remove all of them.

When I opened the boiler, I quickly realised that it wasn't drained properly despite me following instructions by purging both the steam and the group head. Is there a specific trick with v2 silvias ?

The boiler does show signs of scale and a little corrosion on the flat surface it seems.
The bottom part was full of what looks like a scale slurry.
The heating element doesn't seem in bad shape either, what are your thoughts ?

It does not look bad at all. A lot of scale slurry.
Get a new gasket
Get stainless steel screws
Get some scotchbright https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07R9FQMPK
Get some citric acid https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079G9GH2V
I've literally boiled my boiler, all tubing and bits and pieces in a pot in a citric acid solution for 30min (left it over night to cool down)
I just made sure heating element connectors were not submerged (just in case)
Get at it with scotchbright (all except the heating coil of course)

Since your frame is bent make sure, in case someone dropped it, boiler/grouphead connection is dead flat (remove red gasket and mate the surfaces and check if it looks flat)

I would remove the stainless steel screw from the top of the grouphead to let the trapped scale out.

You are European but I will say it just in case. Silvia is European and uses European threads etc so don't use any teflon tape or anything like that when you put it back together

Thanks for the advice, hopefully my new gasket and citric acid arrived by the post today so I will be able to get all that done over the weekend.

I was thinking about removing the element altogether but I've read multiple times that old v1/v2 silvias heating element is not removable. On the other hand, I also found a provider for such after market element, including gaskets, nuts and all: https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/rancilio- ... 5057-p.asp
I don't remember seeing nuts on my element but I will check if maybe it is a removable version. Has anyone already tried this after market element ?

> I would remove the stainless steel screw from the top of the grouphead to let the trapped scale out.

I did wonder about this one and held off because I didn't know what it is used for. I will do that before citric acid bath.

I will check for a flat surface between the boiler/group head but it doens't seem like the machine got dropped as I can't see any impact. I feel like it was not stored properly, possibly on the side as the steam valve is also slightly bent, preventing the knob to fit properly. I will do my best to try and straighten the frame before putting everything back together.

Thanks again for the feedback.

So, cleaning is ongoing and it looks pretty good so far. I am however concerned about the big piece of scale that was stuck to the element.
Even a few hours of descaler and a good brush can get it off completely. I'm not sure I should persist in trying to remove it now, maybe it will go next time I run descaler through the machine. What do you think ?

Almost ready to reassemble. I have done my best with the bottom of the boiler but after multiple baths and scotch brite sessions I didn't feel like making anymore progress. I don't have a vise and I haven't been able to open the steam valve for cleaning at all so I will look at it at a later time. I couldn't find any european (non UK) reseller for the valve gasket and o-ring. Does anyone have a recommendation ?

Before remounting, are there parts that need some greasing aside from the steamer o-rings ?

Nice job. That thing is clean.