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Caster repair - Re: (ET) Shock repair follow-up



I believe the frozen castor is a common problem, esp. when they've been sitting unused out in the rain (like mine was). Being too cheap to but new ones, I resurrected mine. It wan't too bad. I beat the old ones apart, ground down the mushroomed end (from smacking it), and wire brushed it. The old shaft was pitted, but we're talking about .0001 RPM for the caster swivel, so I think that's ok. The odd thing (at least on the cast parts) is the nylon bushing is an odd size. I forget the exact dimensions, but I think the swivel itself is like 3/4" which is good, but the bore in the casting was odd, like .980. A standard bushing would be 3/4" ID and 1" OD so I just drilled the casting out to 1". Bushings were less than a buck each I think. I used new SS bolts in the wheels and slathered every moving part with Never-Seize. Works like a champ now.
 
SteveS
E12S
 
----- Original Message -----
From: SolidTech
To:
Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 12:13 PM
Subject: RE: (ET) Shock repair follow-up

My deck has the smaller diameter single roller in the front as well as the larger caster wheels in the front and the long roller in the back.  The kicker is that the larger casters had the swivel shaft rust solid - so they don't exactly swivel...  I had to cut off the old wheels and "forks" and buy some swivel caster to bolt onto the plates left - it works, but is a bit of a kludge - probably time to call Bill Gunn and fix it right...
 
- - joe

Joseph Rock
E-15 & MagnaTrac Hydro 5000 in Colorado

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu [mailto:owner-elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu]On Behalf Of SteveS
Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 9:31 AM
To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
Subject: Re: (ET) Shock repair follow-up

Well good to know, the tilt up does occur to others. My rear rollers are pretty worn, so that may be contributing to the problem. Mine has the cast aluminum casters and they are nice. It looks like I also had a front roller but it broke off (or was 'removed') at some point.
 
SteveS
E12S
 
 ----- Original Message -----
To: 'SWS'
Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 9:22 AM
Subject: RE: (ET) Shock repair follow-up

I have seen one mount at the deck pull right through (decks tend to get rusty; you can make a sheet metal brace) and then the other side BEND at the weld without breaking. 
 
The deck does indeed tip up easily.  I have thought about putting a light chain on the bottom and snapping it to the frame, but my real suspicion is that the problem is the back roller is either too small in diameter or doesn't extend all the way to the end.  I have noticed it usually catches near the outside edge.
 
As far as the front casters; I have seen 3 different designs.  The most interesting (to me) was an die-cast-aluminum design that weighed a lot less.  Easier on the lift I suppose.  In addition, two of the decks I have owned had a FRONT roller as well as the back one; 3 did not.  The front roller is about 6" wide and mounted dead-center in front.  These are the decks I kept as they don't dig-in.
 
Larry Elie
 
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