Touch-plate relay fix

Sue's Touch-Plate lighting system had a relay that wouldn't switch. Took it apart lubed the step wheel , shaft and ratchet with graphite and now it switches again. These things get cooked in the attic. This relay is a 1550B, no longer available and has been replaced by a touch-plate 3000 relay.

These have a 28 volt dc coil and are supposed to change state every time they get a pulse. This one just thumped and had quit turning off and on,

Relay bank in the attic

 disassembled and lubed with powdered graphite.

 Bench test using a 20 volt laptop power brick. Relays are 28 volt so if 20 does it 28 should too.

testing, now it works

 New style 3000 relay in the middle of the image, It is wider and has screw terminals.

Man versus Machine, Amana/speed queen washing machine repair

Our 15+ year old wash machine started leaking.

Power test with the covers off showed it was the tub seal underneath. There was  oil getting on some clothes so there might be water in the transmisson too.

This is the hub and seal kit that fits our Amana model ALW880QAC,  Whirlpool part number R99000457. Got the kit from Amazon along with a main bearing 40004201P which is also a Whirlpool part number
 Seal kit
 Bearing
 

The agitator just snaps over the drive ball. I used a couple pry bars to get it off.

Drive ball off the spline The seal is supposed to be stuck to the hub so it was leaking.

spindle nut remove

 Hub was a battle to get off. Three jaw puller and an air hammer to vibrate it was used. The hub being corroded was the problem, both seal areas were bad. there was a lint filter between the inner tub and the hub. I left it out because it seemed to trap junk by the seal.

Transmission and "milk stool". Removing main bearing.

Checking transmission for water in the oil, it was OK. This transmission has all metal gears, good stuff. Speed queen makes quality transmissions even today. 3m800 sealant was called out for the outer tub seal. hard to get. I used permatex aviation form-a-gasket instead. No pics of that and no leaks yet ha.

Old hub and drive ball seal. Hub was very corroded.

Lower tub seal, bearing and the bottom of the hub These were really bad. Glad to get it back going.

Brake pressure testing adapters

Made up adapters to test brake pressure at the caliper bleeder fittings. One is 5/16-24 thread and the other 3/8-24.

New governor for a TH 425

Got a new Allison AT540 governor to see if it would adapt to an TH425 transmission. It does! The Allison governor has no speedo gear but the gear from a TH425 fits on it. The Allison governor has no can as it fits inside the transmission in it's original configuration but it will fit inside a TH425 can. It does fit, shift and the speedo works. The Allison governors were available in several different rpm ranges to go with whatever engine was driving it. This particular governor is for 3000-3400 rpm and is a code 462. Sonnax makes them new.http://www.makcotransmissionparts.com/Allison-AT540.html

Part number on the Allison governor

Speedo gear swapped from the broken TH425 governor on to the Allison.  I think the weights and springs could be swapped and then it would act like a TH425 governor.

Polishing Alcoa wheels

Our Alcoa aluminium wheels are 10 years old and needed a good polishing. I had polished them before by hand but that wasn't doing it any more. Got after them with the official stuff and they look much better. About 5-10 minutes each after they are on the ground so you can get at them.

I used Zephyr products. A 10 inch wheel kit with polish bar, 2 inch extender and safety flanges. Links below

Zephyr wheel kit

www.zephyrpro40.com

best price was at
4 State truck

Lithium ion boost

Got a new dash cam and the battery wouldn't charge. Read on the net that if the resting voltage was too low the chargers won't charge, a safety deal. This battery had been sitting too long and the voltage was 2.2 instead of 3.7. Read that they can be boosted manually and that might get them going. I figured what the heck nothing to loose. Used a 4.7 ohm series resister and a 12 volt bench power supply. It took only about 20 seconds... This did work and now the battery charges. The dash cam is a Ebay deal from China. Very pleased with it My first cam lasted more than 5 years before the lighter plug power adapter quit. This cam has gapless recording model DVR-207GS and HD.
DASH CAM LINK

TH 425 governor loose yoke

Here is a couple TH 425 governors that have the yoke coming loose.

 Yoke brazed back in place. I submerge most of the shaft in water so none of the fits get hot and change dimension.

 Some of the new gears are different and need shimmed. Got caught on this last time. Got die button shims on order which should work. Need to get these done and back to Jim K.

Another quirk, this governor has an additional spring between the bottom of the spool and gear. First time seen this.

Lego head propane tanks

                                      These tanks crack me up

Stove Polish

Our antique wood stove got polished. This is what I used from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-Stove-Grill-Liquid-Polish/dp/B001AWFJTE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406036241&sr=8-4&keywords=stove+polish

It took less than a hour and used about 1/3 of the bottle.

I like how the flat and sheen highlight the castings details

Tree 2uvr-c quill handle, z clutch

Honeywell gas valve lasts almost 60 years

Repaired a GE gas furnace that was installed in the 50's. The gas valve wouldn't shut all the way off....

Honeywell gas valve and replacement on top. This furnace does not have a "safety pilot cut off" and the gas to the pilot is on all the time. The pilot is proven by a bi-metal switch. You can see the switch and pilot in the lower center. The main gas valve is just that with no thermocouple or pilot stuff. Valve does have a pressure regulator.

Here is the old valve apart. You can see the flapper has not been hitting the seat on center. Sometimes it missed and got hung up on the washer letting some gas through. Sometimes one burner row would stay on a little...

Here is the flaps attachment to the solenoid, the swage has come loose.

I can move the flap to the correct position with my finger but it won't stay.

Swaged connection has been working loose for a while. Time to replace the valve with new.

Making a thumbscrew

The Tree mill was missing a thumbscrew on the table dial lock so I made one.

Thread is 1/4 -28, most of the ones I found online were 1/4-20. Going to use an allen head fastener and press on a knurled ring. Original thumbscrew from the other side.

        Middle size knurl looks about a match to the original

        Knurled a piece of hot rolled round, then face and drill .005 undersize.

           faced drilled and cut off.

  ready to grind off remains of cut

      Pressing ring on, it was pretty tight

    That knurled ring isn't going to come off

          Ready to use

    Made a wooden toolbox to fit on the ram.