HOG D1 1st Stage Dissasembly - Help Needed

[WhiteSands]

The environmental cap on the 1st stage is seized fast to the diaphragm cap. When I used a hook wrench to unscrew the environmental cap, the whole assembly (env cap + diaphragm cap) came off the main body.

I tried using 2 hook wrenches to undo the environmental cap from the diaphragm cap by turning in opposite directions, but it just won't come loose and I don't want to exert too much force in case it damages anything.

Ideas, anyone?

 

[Pao]

Immerse the environmental cap in warm water.

 

[tbone1004]

make sure the unit is dry, and put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes then it should pop out no problem cold will make the threads separate from each other. What you may also want to do is to put one of the wrenches in a vice, hold the unit with the front of the other wrench in your hand, and tap the loose wrench end with a dead blow hammer, or the palm of your hand. Sometimes it just needs a good jolt. If that doesn't work, PB Blaster, Deep Creep etc may get into the threads and help loosen it up, just make sure to scrub the thing real good with simple green/dawn to get the hydrocarbons off of it. If you have an ultrasonic that works too.

 

[beanojones]

Heat is the usual answer to unsticking things, if for no other reason than because it is easier to direct a propane torch than a freezer, and then outer layer (the part that is stuck) is the first to take whatever temperature change.

Future tip, always get the environmental cap off first, turning against the spring retainer/diaphram retainer part, because you can always use the port wrench to get a firm grip on the first stage main body, to wrench that back free

You only have the pin wrenches acting aginst each other to get the environmental cap free, and once you break the diaphrgm retainer part free it wants to walk around a lot.

 

[WhiteSands]

make sure the unit is dry, and put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes then it should pop out no problem cold will make the threads separate from each other. What you may also want to do is to put one of the wrenches in a vice, hold the unit with the front of the other wrench in your hand, and tap the loose wrench end with a dead blow hammer, or the palm of your hand. Sometimes it just needs a good jolt. If that doesn't work, PB Blaster, Deep Creep etc may get into the threads and help loosen it up, just make sure to scrub the thing real good with simple green/dawn to get the hydrocarbons off of it. If you have an ultrasonic that works too.

Thanks for the tip. I've tried repeatedly freezing it then dunking in hot water. No luck. Also I am wary of spraying any petroleum based lube because if I can disassemble it, good. If I can't, and the lube gets inside, I don't think that's going to be good.

 

[tbone1004]

try a light deadblow hammer with the two pin spanners, sometimes the quick jar will get it loose, works the same as an impact wrench.

 

[beanojones]

Thanks for the tip. I've tried repeatedly freezing it then dunking in hot water. No luck. Also I am wary of spraying any petroleum based lube because if I can disassemble it, good. If I can't, and the lube gets inside, I don't think that's going to be good.

Dunking it in hot water won't actually direct enough heat unless it is basically boiling hot, and you leave it in long enough to permanentlyy warp the environmental cap.


Are you using cheater bars on the pin spanners? Put the first stage in a vise (or rather put the HP port wrench in a vise, and line up the pin spanner on a cheater bar extension on the lower part and make sure that cheater bar is also captured by the vise, and then use a cheater bar on on the pin spanner in the upper part. If you start to walk the work bench around, then you have gotten something wrong. But you can put enough power into a cheater bar to do break even chemical welds.

If you cannot get it out using cheater bars on both pin spanners then it might be the case that the threads were cross threaded when they were tightened down, or that the first stage too a hard enough whack to cross the threads, in which case everything but the body is toast. But that is pretty rare since that kind of impact would show other signs of damage.

 

[justcallmecam]

The death of a thousand taps tecnique..............
Screw the diapgragm retainer with enviro cap still attached back onto the first stage.
Clamp 1st stage in a vice with 1st stage holding tool or soft jaws.
Tighten the diaphragm retainer (you may need an extra hand to hold it with the hook wrench whilst you do the next part)
Put your second hook wrench/pin spanner whatever you like to call it onto the enviro cap
Use a box end wrench about 9/16 or 5/8 and hit the hook wrench like your using a hammer
The small size and weight of the box end ensures you dont hit too hard and damage the hole (easily done with cheater bars)
It could tske 5 minutes of tapping it could take 40 but it will come off.

This works great for badly corroded regs i guess the tapping loosens the corrosion and salt and jarrs the thread a bit..... i dont know the details but it ALWAYS works without damaging anything.

---------- Post added December 12th, 2014 at 08:41 PM ----------

Just realized how old this thread was..... if its not off by now i guess its never coming off