Tweegs
03-30-2018, 08:52 AM
Last Sunday the vac pump seized.
Found I could turn it over easily by hand a few times and then it would bind.
Seemed like something came loose or maybe a bit of crud rolling around inside was the cause so I had a minor rebuild kit and new bearings shipped overnight for delivery on Tues.
Cracked the pump open Monday night after work and found the problem was much more serious. One of the pistons broke.
Of course, this had to happen during the week we were doing a major software upgrade at work where both my presence and undivided attention were required for some very long hours.
No luck so far finding a replacement piston, but haven’t exhausted every lead yet …still working on it.
Probably no chance of getting a new piston prior to the season ending. Plan B would be to get another pump off e-bay for parts.
With nothing to really lose, I figured I’d take a shot at trying to braze this thing back together.
Never brazed anything before, but after watching a few videos and reading up on it, kind of reminds me of soldering, which I can do.
No worse off if I fail.
The pics show what I’m up against. The cylinder portion is 3/16 thick and the piston itself is ¾.
Figure I’ll grind off a little from both the piston and the cylinder but leave enough original metal to register. Clamp it up and spend more time heating the piston because it’s thicker, then have at it. Let it cool naturally.
Any words of wisdom before I fire up the torch?
18385
18383
18384
Found I could turn it over easily by hand a few times and then it would bind.
Seemed like something came loose or maybe a bit of crud rolling around inside was the cause so I had a minor rebuild kit and new bearings shipped overnight for delivery on Tues.
Cracked the pump open Monday night after work and found the problem was much more serious. One of the pistons broke.
Of course, this had to happen during the week we were doing a major software upgrade at work where both my presence and undivided attention were required for some very long hours.
No luck so far finding a replacement piston, but haven’t exhausted every lead yet …still working on it.
Probably no chance of getting a new piston prior to the season ending. Plan B would be to get another pump off e-bay for parts.
With nothing to really lose, I figured I’d take a shot at trying to braze this thing back together.
Never brazed anything before, but after watching a few videos and reading up on it, kind of reminds me of soldering, which I can do.
No worse off if I fail.
The pics show what I’m up against. The cylinder portion is 3/16 thick and the piston itself is ¾.
Figure I’ll grind off a little from both the piston and the cylinder but leave enough original metal to register. Clamp it up and spend more time heating the piston because it’s thicker, then have at it. Let it cool naturally.
Any words of wisdom before I fire up the torch?
18385
18383
18384