Lubricating proof meter cable?

Hammbone · May 16, 2014

Going to install new proof meter cable (8n) this weekend among other things, but wanted to know before I installed it if there is any kind of lubrication that needs to be done to it. I swear I remember reading somewhere that new ones needed to be lubed before installation, but don't remember where. I did a little searching around and could not find anything definitive on the subject. Some said they used wd-40 before installation, but that sounds like a recipie for gunk build up down the road to me. I looked through the FO4 manual and it barely said a word about the meter or cable. So, does it need lubed? If so with what and how? Do I take the c-clip off and pull out the inner shaft?
Hammbone

CalG · May 16, 2014

Pull the inner
Lightly apply white grease to the length, staying clear of the final two inches nearest the instrument.

WD-40 is a good solvent, but a worthless lube.

Hammbone · May 16, 2014

Thanks CaIG, I figured that was probably the best route to go, but I've never like taking apart brand new parts to do something without knowing that it's necessary. I figured as much about the wd-40 too.

Soundguy · May 17, 2014

graphite lube, tach lube, key-lock lube.. etc.

ditto on wd-40 being worthless unless you need to get water out of a dizzy cap or remove a sticker

Hammbone · May 18, 2014

Well, I found out that the socket on the proof meter is stripped out. Is this something that can be fixed, or will I just have to go with a new meter? It seems to still function if you turn it with your fingers, so I was hoping to try to salvage what looks like the original meter. Anyone rebuilt these things?

CalG · May 18, 2014

amazing things can be done with epoxy these days. J-B Weld, or Devcon metal bearing materials might fill the hole, and re establish the square hole.

Also, judicious use of a needle nose vice grip can work magic on some situations.

Hammbone · May 18, 2014

I think I like the jb weld idea, I may just have to give that a shot, nothing to loose right? Thanks for the idea!

Soundguy · May 19, 2014

you can always pry the bezel open, remove the glass and rear screws and lif the mechanism out..

Hammbone · May 19, 2014

Soundguy said:
you can always pry the bezel open, remove the glass and rear screws and lif the mechanism out..

I got the mechanism out, but I was hesitant to take it much further apart. Everything inside seems to work and move freely as it should, I believe it had seized to the housing and broke free after I soaked it with pb blaster. I just need to figure out how to turn the round hole back into a square hole now.

wolc123 · May 22, 2014

On my 1951, I just stuck a new one in dry, as it came out of the plastic bag, on the day the old one failed (at 1500 hours). They had one in stock at the farm store around the corner. I don't remember it being very expensive. Currently, I have around 500 additional hours. You should be able to get that with no lube anyhow. How many hours did yours fail at? What did the new one cost? That sounds like a bit of a messy job that I would skip unless the cable was expensive and/or I had lots of free time. It would be interesting to know the average difference in lifespan of a lubed or un-lubed cable. I know it is hard to believe, but sometimes too much lube can do more harm than good.

Hammbone · May 22, 2014

wolc123 said:
On my 1951, I just stuck a new one in dry, as it came out of the plastic bag, on the day the old one failed (at 1500 hours). They had one in stock at the farm store around the corner. I don't remember it being very expensive. Currently, I have around 500 additional hours. You should be able to get that with no lube anyhow. How many hours did yours fail at? What did the new one cost? That sounds like a bit of a messy job that I would skip unless the cable was expensive and/or I had lots of free time. It would be interesting to know the average difference in lifespan of a lubed or un-lubed cable. I know it is hard to believe, but sometimes too much lube can do more harm than good.

Well, the cable and meter were not working when I bought the tractor, so I'm not sure how long ago it gave up. The meter read 2812.6 hours when it stopped working, but that was apparently looooong before I purchased the tractor. You can see how dark the numbers are, but if you look closely, you can see that the number dial is white where I wiped a little of the smut off of the dial. It was only dirty on those numbers exposed, the back side was still white! The new cable was something like $20, I don't remember exactly. It's the all metal sleeve and seems pretty sturdy. It was actually fairly easy to take apart, only one little c clip on the governor side. It slid right out I lubed it up lightly with lithium grease except for the last few inches on the meter side, then slid it right back in and reinstalled the c clip. Total of about 5 minutes start to finish. Seems like minimal effort to me to do the extra step w/o cutting corners for peace of mind type of thing.

I have not gotten around to trying the jbweld yet, but hopefully this weekend I will have time to try it out and get the meter back together and installed. I'll put up some pictures if everything goes well (or if it doesn't as well)

wolc123 · May 22, 2014

Good luck with it. You have there my favorite tractor ever. If it behaves anything like mine, I am sure you will have many years of great service. I still cant believe how much easier it is to change 3-pt implements on those "originals" than any make/model made since. Also, as you have seen, getting parts is always a "walk in the park". With my tractor, I am sure of the hours because it was purchased new by our neighbor across the street. All he did with it was work a small garden each season. He was a stickler for maintenance and his widow gave me all them records, plus the original sales info when I bought it.

Hammbone · May 24, 2014

Well, I have good and bad news. The good news is that the jbweld worked wonderfully to repair the stripped out socket on th back of the meter! The bad news though is that either A: I screwed up something in the meter when I took it apart, or B:it was already no good to start. It kind of works, but I think either the spring is worn out or the magnet has lost some of its strength. They just don't seem to play well consistently together.

Before I put it back together I had the cable connected to the meter and a cordless drill on the governor end. The drill has a max rpm of around 1700 so I thought that would be a good speed to test things out. Sometimes the needle would bounce around about 900, other times it would be closer to 2400 with no rhyme or reason for one or the other. Maybe it just needs adjusting or tuning or something, but I don't see how that would be done. The gears all turn and the hour meter works, the tach is a whole different animal.
I think this one has surpassed the $50 value mark for me to try to repair, so I believe I'll be ordering a new one.

If anyone out there rebuilds these things and wants to give this one a shot, just let me know.

Soundguy · May 24, 2014

the lil shaft the needle runs on may need some lube.. try that. if not. yeah.. it's likely a gonner...

Hammbone · May 24, 2014

I actually did put a little grease on the gears and the needle hoping that could help, but no such luck. I already put the glass back in and the bezel back on and figured it was more or less a decorative paper weight now. Oh well, it was worth a shot!

Soundguy · May 24, 2014

and the new ones aren't mucch better.

just a few words of encouragement.

Hammbone · May 24, 2014

Soundguy said:
and the new ones aren't mucch better.

just a few words of encouragement.

Well if I can put as many hours on it that the first one did I should be set for the next couple decades at least.

Soundguy · May 24, 2014

if you can get them in in 6m you'll probably be ok.

Hammbone · May 24, 2014

Soundguy said:
if you can get them in in 6m you'll probably be ok.

Is that 6 minutes or months? Because 6 minutes doesn't sound unreasonable for install. It's a pretty simple set up.....however I did go with a guage kit with the new ammeter and oil guage. And the proofmeter has a light! So there's another couple minutes running new wires....I'm thinking two beer job tops :thumbsup: