I did it again! :(

   / I did it again! :( #1  

Jstpssng

Epic Contributor
Joined
Aug 7, 2005
Messages
22,490
Location
Maine
Tractor
Kubota L3301
Sometimes I think that a "personal shopper" would save me money. I started rebuilding my Wyeth-Scott power puller (manual come-along) last weekend and realized that it needs everything except the main housing. That must be why they recommend using their safety handles, instead of a 30" length of 1" pipe. ;)
I started pricing parts and realized the shipping would kill me; costing more than a new unit, which is close to $300. But wait; here's a "PWR Puller" for under $200 delivered to my door. With my AmEx rewards it's affordable. I ordered on Monday, it came today; as soon as I took it out of the box I realized it's a cheap Chinese knockoff.
Not only that but it's so heavy that it would be almost useless for anything I want it for.

My loss is somebody else's gain, selling it on Craigslist will be less of a hit than paying to send it back.
 
   / I did it again! :( #2  
Just wondering why your original come-along needs rebuilding? There's almost nothing to them. Did it rust out? Did you drive over it (lol). They're almost bomb proof. I have no idea how old mine is, but it still plugs along anytime I need it.

I could see the pull cable getting frayed and needing restrung with new cable?
 
   / I did it again! :( #3  
Just wondering why your original come-along needs rebuilding?
I have two of these, the new one to replace the old (40+ yo), the teeth started to get rounded over and not always holding the cable.

Would love to rebuild the older one just to have it ready if needed. I've seen it sitting somewhere recently... next time I see it, I need to pull it out and work on it!! (like all the other projects!!!)
 
   / I did it again! :(
  • Thread Starter
#4  
My reel was never centered so the pawl wouldn't seat properly on one side of the reel; often it would release unexpectedly. In hindsight that was a manufacturing defect and I should have returned it when new. The major problem though resulted from me replacing the OEM handle with a 30" piece of pipe, and working it as hard as I could pull. The holes became elongated and there's so much slop that it really wouldn't seat properly. I'd already bought new cable, the pawl with spring/ rivet, and 2 new handles. By the time that I'm done I will have about $200 into it... plus the cost of shipping the knockoff back where it came from. A new unit is somewhere north of $300 though, so I'm still a little ahead of the game.
 
   / I did it again! :( #5  
Just wondering why your original come-along needs rebuilding? There's almost nothing to them. Did it rust out? Did you drive over it (lol). They're almost bomb proof. I have no idea how old mine is, but it still plugs along anytime I need it.

I could see the pull cable getting frayed and needing restrung with new cable?
He put a 30" helper on the handle instead of rigging a couple of pass blocks. You can wreck them if you overload them.

I saw a 1-ton tow truck pull a fully loaded concrete delivery truck out of a ditch once. The driver just started spooling out cable and attaching pass blocks. When he got to where he could pull 30 tons, he put it in gear and out popped the concrete truck. It was an education.
 
   / I did it again! :( #6  
My reel was never centered so the pawl wouldn't seat properly on one side of the reel; often it would release unexpectedly. In hindsight that was a manufacturing defect and I should have returned it when new. The major problem though resulted from me replacing the OEM handle with a 30" piece of pipe, and working it as hard as I could pull. The holes became elongated and there's so much slop that it really wouldn't seat properly. I'd already bought new cable, the pawl with spring/ rivet, and 2 new handles. By the time that I'm done I will have about $200 into it... plus the cost of shipping the knockoff back where it came from. A new unit is somewhere north of $300 though, so I'm still a little ahead of the game.
Did you go back with the cable or the synthetic rope?
 
   / I did it again! :( #7  
Mine is one of the "cheap-O" types. I bought it about 35 years ago. Cost around $65. I use it about once every ten years.
 
   / I did it again! :(
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Did you go back with the cable or the synthetic rope?
Cable. It's too easy to ruin the rope.
Remember, I wrecked the cast iron housing... 😮
I ended up ordering the parts I need to fix the old one like I should have done in the first place. All told it will run me about $200, a savings of $100 over the cost of a new one.
That's before adding the $52 cost of shipping for the Chinese junk both ways. The casting is so bad on the reel teeth that I would never trust it to hold.
 
   / I did it again! :( #9  
Cable. It's too easy to ruin the rope.
Remember, I wrecked the cast iron housing... 😮
I ended up ordering the parts I need to fix the old one like I should have done in the first place. All told it will run me about $200, a savings of $100 over the cost of a new one.
That's before adding the $52 cost of shipping for the Chinese junk both ways. The casting is so bad on the reel teeth that I would never trust it to hold.
That makes sense due to the worn teeth.

what kind of problems have you encountered with the rope? I’ve been considering the rope for awhile.
 
 
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