Reply to Old Magnet:
Good stuff.
Over the years I have seen many successful applications of these products, in some cases such as abrasive pumping repair of pump volutes, it's the only thing that worked.
Got to admit it's pretty pricey stuff for an individual to purchase though.
Just depends on the replacement value of what's being repaired.
[quote="Old Magnet"]Good stuff.
Over the years I have seen many successful applications of these products, in some cases such as abrasive pumping repair of pump volutes, it's the only thing that worked.
Got to admit it's pretty pricey stuff for an individual to purchase though.
Just depends on the replacement value of what's being repaired.[/quote]
You are correct OM. ( I are a pump guy ) There are more choices for small packaging now. It helps! I have a couple machine shops that buy a small amount each year just for weird jobs. Normal return is about $6K for $1200 in materials. Not bad.
The total cost of an individuals private machinery repair cannot be compared to a industrial or military one. UNLESS, downtime / urgency, parts availability, and the fun of saving something old has value. ? HA!
Examples😞1) My wife and I rebuilt our old 5000 Ford tractor. The engine/ injector system upgrade was mostly all off the shelf and machine work. The Front spindle housings being severly worn and egg shaped was another deal that would have been VERY pricey to renew. We used one material to replace the worn circumference of the bushing seat area on the spindles. Then used the fresh ( true) spindles to align the new bushings while bedding the bushings with Belzona. Childsplay and cost about $60.00 in material. (2) CAterpillar 3606 on a Ohio river towboat was leaking coolant between the top deck and the cylinder liner top flange. Several methods had been tried through the decades and the engine never ran leak free. We determined that a wee bit o corrosion on the big o ring seat was the culprit. That bevel is only about maybe 3/8" wide. The compressed o ring contact width was maybe 3/16". Used a ball end rotary file, gingerly ground out the pits and valleys around the bevel. Washed down with acetone, mixed the Belzona 1111 and spatula applied. Struck off big excess while still soft. Went to lunch. Hand dressed bevel with spankin new fine Nicholsons and a pretty job was done.
All six cylinders used a little over $200 bucks in material. The alternative was in place broach cutting at a cost of around $30K. The tug folks are liking a dry deck! (3) Many common items such as a normal small keyway job is under $20. (4) Sombody before me used a hammer and chisel to ruin the flange surfaces for the fuel transfer pump on my D3B. Bet you guys know what a replacement would be. Anyway, I am a no leak kinda guy, so those flanges got the treatment. Both the injector pump body and transfere pump had dings. FIled the bad off the transfere pump,ground out & filled the pits and let it dry. Got the injector flange clean, roughed and dry. Applied release agent to transfere pump flange( to prevent bonding), dabbed the bad flange with just a wee bit of material and assembled. The excess squeezed out. I let it set over night, popped off the transfere pump, trimmed the excess that was now hard, put them back together. No leaky, perfect fit. Maybe $ 15 bucks in material. And it is FUN!
My ramblings are ment to give examples of difficult repairs in situ, that become very easy. Did I mention it's FUN?
