mountainforge Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 i've got an old Champion hand turn blower i got off a co-worker. it was in his dads' scrap pile for several years and is all sorts of rust and corrosion. would soaking it in a tub of wd-40 and working the parts back and forth help loosen everything up enough to tear it apart, or is it worth trying? i'm not sure but i think one of the bolts that holds the gearbox casings together is broke off in the case. can something like that be tapped and re-threaded if i can open it up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 I would soak it and try working things loose. Diesel works too. There is a hold down screw on the inside of the cover, up front by the blower housing. So un screw the 2 screws a the back end and slide the cover forward. If it had lots of oil and grease in the bearings and gears, it should be revivable. Are you located up in Truckee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Don't take it apart unless you have to. Turn it upside down and hosing it out will do wonders for loosening built up crud, old bugs, hornet and rat's nests, rocks and sticks dropped in it by kids, etc. Rattling the handle back and forth with water spraying in it will go a long way to freeing it up, don't try hard, just back and forth is fine. When you get as much foreign stuff out as you can is the time to soak it in oil, I like ATF. It has a natural penetrating ingredient and is good lube without being heavy. Heavy oils tend to hold dirt and grit in place. Diesel is good, especially with a little motor oil. These things are NOT close tolerance pieces of machinery and were intended to work just fine on whatever was available so for the most part all they need is clearing the works of debris and some lube. Bacon grease will do and no you don't want to fill the case with oil, it'll just leak out, dribble a few drops in the oil ports when you begin. Just motor oil, not gear oil or, heavens forbid STP they get stiff when cold. And no I'm not recommending bacon grease, I'm saying the blower is intended to work just just fine at that tech level. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainforge Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 Frosty: all the screws and bolts and everything is rusted together with the case, and all the gears inside are rusted together too. so if i want it to work i'll have to dive into it. @ Fe-Wood: i'm in south east iowa, some 26 or so hours from cali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Yates Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Have you ever heard of Shaffer oil stuff works Awesome and sea foam does too . Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 If it's rusted or crudded closed aim a pressure washer in the air ports, the intake port will access most of the guts and the output will get the rest. Croil is good too if it's actually rust welded but crud can fake you out. Just getting the crud wet will go a long way to softening it and a little rattling will shake it loose. I seriously try to never take these things apart till I'm sure there's no choice. It doesn't take much to break a screw, lose a key or some other piddly little part that hasn't been made in a few decades. Still, these aren't jet engines, they're simple pieces of machinery so if you must be careful taking it apart. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans138 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 i had a third gen blacksmith tell me his family secret is to soak the thing in cider vingar, and he stressed cider vinegar and not white or any other kind. cover the whole thing in it for a few days, the pull it out and try and move the parts, then back in the cider vinegar. her swore up and down that it works like magic. itll get all fizzy and lots of black nasty crud will come to the top. i have a froze up champ 400 im gonna try it on this weekend. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I didn't read what the model no. is................. if it is the popular 400 gear box, it will never be right (i.e. rough and noisy) if the ball bearings and cones (races) are rusty, thus pitted. That is the problem with the upper class blower. There is nothing you can do to make it work right, outside replacing the balls and dressing the cones or replacing the cones. You can use it, but they are really noisy and sorta "grind" when turned. The other styles which don't employ the balls, will not be effected by the rust as they are steel on iron "bushings/bearings" aka friction bearings. I had one of the Champion 401-Eureka blowers that was literally filled with rust and it now turns super smooth and very quietly. I used a steam/presure washer to clean that one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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