IH Gasket Repair help

[youngfg]

Not a crack, a bristle from a brush I was using.

[BobWarfield]

Thinking to myself....and this is on brand new IH mills....gotta remember to stay away from them.....

I don't think you'll have to work to hard to remember Viper. Of course you'll have to also avoid:

Monarch Lathes ( http://www.cnczone.com/cg...2;t=000607;p=0 )

Graziano Lathes ( http://www.cnczone.com/cg...8;t=000306;p=0 )

South Bend Lathes ( http://www.armurerieduroi.com/pages/...cation.html#28 )

And most other makes if your criteria is whether the machine can develop an oil leak or not.

Best,

BW

[ViperTX]

BobWarfield.....I understand but these other machines are decades old....their seals have dried out....the IH machines are new to very new and I suspect the problem is a manufacturing problem.

[BobWarfield]

Viper, maybe this thread and quote will be more on point then:

"He said: You may not experience this, being a HSM, but every Enco I've ever seen leaked out of the rear spindle after some run time

I have honestly never ran a machine that did not drip some oil from somewhere. Even a brand new LeBlond that was bought where I worked in the 90's leaked some.
I am just sad that it was not bought from machinetoolonline.com, but they are not anywhere near as bas as you will see when people complain on the internet."

http://www.cnczone.com/ub...51.html#000008

Best,

BW

[ViperTX]

Okay Bob....all gear head lathes or mills will leak to some extent...

[mattinaustin]

Maybe all mills leak some, but this leak seems a little more than just 'normal'. I wonder if there is a flaw in the casting like youngfg had? I wouldn't be quite as worried about it except that if I get oil on titanium before welding it just increases the risk that I will not be able to thoroughly clean it and end up contaminating the weld. The person I share the shop with cuts carbon fiber on his mill and can not afford ANY oil getting into it. Its a rong-fu knock off as well, but no leaking at all.

I guess i am going to have to take the whole thing apart again and do some more investigation. Either that or keep a rag handy an wipe up any oil before it drips. I will try and get a hold of Aaron at IH to discuss next week. This is really a pain I was not counting on with a brand new mill :-(

--Matt

[ViperTX]

Well cast iron is porous...buy yourself some of that magnaflux paint (I think that is the name)....it is used to show any cracks in metal objects under blacklight....used in the auto motor rebuilding industry.

If the leaks are from around the seals....then I would tend to believe that the runout may be a problem....if this is the problem you may look at making a oil slinger that spins the oil from the seal....or look at adding an inner seal....think of the seals that car engines have around the rotating crank....Heck if my Chevy truck leaked like that....I'd take it back.

[Cruiser]

My IH did some oil dribbling, but mine was foaming oil escaping through the vent in the fill cap then runnin down behind front name plate and pooling up everywhere, i fixed it with some pipe fittings to allow the oil to pool in pipe like a radiator resevoir. so far it works.

[MAX711]

Mine has a small leak around the spindle somewhere. I just give it a quick wipe before I use it, it's so small I haven't tried tracing it. It's a bit like my old Triumph Bonneville, when they STOP leaking oil, you start worrying

[Richards]

My IH leaks pretty good. (At least I don't have to worry about rust!) I have noticed that when I'm running at anything except top speed, there is little or no leaking, but at the highest speed, there is a constant flow. So far, I've added about eight ounces of oil to keep the oil level at the line, which means that the 5-gallon pail that I bought should last quite awhile. I would prefer that the machine not drip oil, but I have to use lots of WD-40 when cutting aluminum anyway, so a little dripping just adds variety to the mixture.

[kimoyo]

It was a little more challenging than I thought, but I was able to get the top plate off of the head and see the top seal. It was messed up, but I am not sure if it was done in the process of removing the top plate or if that is what was wrong all along.

How did you get the top plate off? Thanks.

[wildcat]

Cruiser - do you have a picture of this? This the same problem that I have. I think I understand what you are saying but if you do have a picture that would be great. I had assumed that the fill hole was some sort of metric thread.

My IH did some oil dribbling, but mine was foaming oil escaping through the vent in the fill cap then runnin down behind front name plate and pooling up everywhere, i fixed it with some pipe fittings to allow the oil to pool in pipe like a radiator resevoir. so far it works.