historicalarms
Ultra Member
Every once in a while we encounter a situation that requires an unorthodox "field expedient " fix of one thing or another...and great satisfaction can be had when finished...but pls boys- remember that someone may have to re-fix the item somewhere down the road so make it refixable.
I just encountered such a project. I started to re-hab an old small pumpjack that had been laying in the grass for 10 yrs at my place and untold years before that in its previous hiding spot. It was seized up solid and a total teardown is required, easy I thought, but the first piece to be removed had one of these field repairs performed on it so the easy notion disappeared immediately.
My first look at the drive pully revealed that somewhere in nit life the keyway had been chattered out and instead of doing a shop fix & cutting a new key slot, the mechanic run a drill bit thru the existing groves so he could pound a 5/16 bolt into the hole and then suck that down tight with the set screw for the original key. Fine & dandy if he had just used a bolt long enough to do the job...but no, he had to use a bolt 2 inches longer than needed and just let it curl up out of the key slot when it reached the end. That bolt couldnt be turned ,twisted or pounded back out no way. I had to cut the head off, center punch as good as I could eyeball it and then drill the entire bolt out of the slot ( ohh ya, I forgot to mention the set screw is rusted solid in the pully hub). It took me two days to drill the damn thing and then rig up a makeshift pully puller and then driving the pully with an FBH and punch, i finally got the pully off.
Should be smooth sailing from now on ehh...not so fast buddy when I got to the gearbox. Now that damn thing was rusted up solid in every turny part it has-drive shaft& bearings, ring gear and riding surfaces of the center hub...really really rusted up!!!
After removing all bolts I beat on that thing for 3 days just to get one side of the gearbox separated from the other. I started with 4 thin blade screw drivers as prying tools and gradually got to where I could use tapered chisels & punches along with shims of varying thickness's, I finally got it to separate, man it is UUUgly inside. I think I will have to use my 20 T press to separate the center hub from the gearbox ( that center hub should turn freely on the riding surface it is so rusted to) .
Ohh well, I wanted something to keep me occupied thru winter and this is sure fitting that bill. I have a couple photos to add if I can get John or Don (please) to load them for me.
I just encountered such a project. I started to re-hab an old small pumpjack that had been laying in the grass for 10 yrs at my place and untold years before that in its previous hiding spot. It was seized up solid and a total teardown is required, easy I thought, but the first piece to be removed had one of these field repairs performed on it so the easy notion disappeared immediately.
My first look at the drive pully revealed that somewhere in nit life the keyway had been chattered out and instead of doing a shop fix & cutting a new key slot, the mechanic run a drill bit thru the existing groves so he could pound a 5/16 bolt into the hole and then suck that down tight with the set screw for the original key. Fine & dandy if he had just used a bolt long enough to do the job...but no, he had to use a bolt 2 inches longer than needed and just let it curl up out of the key slot when it reached the end. That bolt couldnt be turned ,twisted or pounded back out no way. I had to cut the head off, center punch as good as I could eyeball it and then drill the entire bolt out of the slot ( ohh ya, I forgot to mention the set screw is rusted solid in the pully hub). It took me two days to drill the damn thing and then rig up a makeshift pully puller and then driving the pully with an FBH and punch, i finally got the pully off.
Should be smooth sailing from now on ehh...not so fast buddy when I got to the gearbox. Now that damn thing was rusted up solid in every turny part it has-drive shaft& bearings, ring gear and riding surfaces of the center hub...really really rusted up!!!
After removing all bolts I beat on that thing for 3 days just to get one side of the gearbox separated from the other. I started with 4 thin blade screw drivers as prying tools and gradually got to where I could use tapered chisels & punches along with shims of varying thickness's, I finally got it to separate, man it is UUUgly inside. I think I will have to use my 20 T press to separate the center hub from the gearbox ( that center hub should turn freely on the riding surface it is so rusted to) .
Ohh well, I wanted something to keep me occupied thru winter and this is sure fitting that bill. I have a couple photos to add if I can get John or Don (please) to load them for me.
