Brass fitting is defeating me...

[joel63]

Seems like King Arthur may have been the only one who could have gotten that

bushing out without any problems.

That one was a real ordeal.

Glad you finally got it.

 

[Jason280]

Glad you finally got it.

Not quite...still have to get the brass threads out of the bushing.

 

[JohnnyK8]

How much does any inlet fitting cost? Why not replace it?

Must not be that easy.

Dremmel, heat and ice water. Them pick the threads clean

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Jason280]

Inlet bushing is $20 + shipping...plus the wait of it getting here. I want to play with this tomorrow, not later this week!

 

[MacMcMacmac]

Sounds like my life. Never had a failure to get an item taken care of during the allotted downtime, but I have had some close ones with really big bucks involved that had me sweating.

I had a machine shop ******* for 2 hours once while I tried to find a fitting I dropped while servicing a compressor at lunch. The machine was halfway up a wall on a mezzanine, with a large oil drip pan underneath it. Nobody could be bothered to actually drain the pan, which was now full of lukewarm ATF. Well, ATF and pigeon **** floating around in it like alphabet soup. It was about 4 inches deep, and raking through that putrid slop was turning my guts, but NOT turning up the fitting. I resigned myself to draining all that mess out to retrieve the part, but when I climbed under the pan, it turns out whoever built it just put a ****** drain in the center and capped it off, no valve. I sighed and pulled an empty barrel under it and slowly began unscrewing the cap. You know how you get impatient when you are unscrewing a plug or cap that you know there is a mess behind? Well after gingerly trying to find the thread end so I could get the hell out of the way of the shitpocalypse, I quickly turned one last 1/16 of a thread and all hell broke loose. I had a major geyser running down my arm, down my side and into my boot. I swear I could feel the grit the birds had eaten under my feet. I was nearly puking, but the worst part was the fitting was still missing. Turns out, it had bounced off my knee, through a cooling slit in a 600v transformer case and was sittiing about 1/2 inch away from a live conductor. That would have been a light show. I always hated servicing machines during a lunch break.

Ended up with pericarditis from all the bacteria as well.

 

[Jason280]

Ended up with pericarditis from all the bacteria as well.

Had you recently had dental work??

 

[Jason280]

Well, success at last.

I started off trying the spiral extractor. I originally thought that there was no way the spiral extractor would break, but it got to the point it made me nervous. I heated the inlet bushing up again in the vise, and ran the extractor in until it was tight. This particular vise is mounted to a 2x4' metal table with a 1/2" top...with the vise, it weighs well over 250lbs. Using a long handle Snap On ratchet and a square drive socket, I was able to put enough force on the bushing with the extractor that it physically moved the table. Damn leverage, you scary! The extractor was making all kinds of groaning noises, so I gave up and went to this:



I notched a few holes with the Dremel, and began cutting with my Vise-Grip saw...




...and ended up with this:




Even at this point, the brass reducer still didn't want to give up. It took quite a few whacks from a hammer and punch before I finally got this:



I was almost convinced that it had been silver soldered in place, but I eventually got it all out.




I have no idea what was used before, but I'd like to have a bottle of it!

 

[Jason280]

I now have this:




As a matter of perspective, here it is with a Snap On MG725 and 325:

 

[geartow]

Did it get the lug nuts of the car?

 

[The Cobbler]

Patience is a virtue!

 

[rice rocket]

Did it get the lug nuts of the car?

You mean the bridge.

 

[R.Anderson]

Update, of sorts...

Decided to go ahead and remove the inlet bushing, with a little help of this:



I threaded the male fitting back in place, and clamped it down in the vice. Heated the assembly up to over 500*, and attacked it with a pipe wrench. This was the result:







So, I am left with a couple options. I can hit it with more heat, cross my fingers, and use this:




...or, I can get a small blade and try and cut the threads out on either side. I don't like this option, but it may be my best bet.

Did you let it cool before putting a wrench on it?

 

[Jason280]

Well, the impact seems to be pretty impressive so far. Sadly, though, I still haven't had a chance to actually try it on anything yet. I do have a 1 5/16" grade 8 bolt/nut that I'm going to attach to a large I beam I have, and see what it will do.

I was able to get a few things accomplished with the compressor....swapped in a quick connect for my 1/2" air hose:




...and more importantly, replaced the stock drain valve with something a little easier:



Swapping in the drain valve was an absolute PITA. I should have done it when I mounted the compressor originally, but didn't know better at the time. There is practically no room to maneuver, not enough space, and took the better part of 30-45 minutes to do what otherwise would have been a 3 minute job. Even the concrete was in the way, had to chip out a little in order to thread on the valve.

 

[larry_g]

If I may make a suggestion, get a fitting on the drain valve and pipe the outlet through an outside wall if you can. Blow all the water and noise outside.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[OccupantRJ]

Attach copper tubing to valve, bend upward a foot, then U bend downward ending about 8" from floor. You can then drain into a container. Outside even better. No personal splatter

 

[redmondjp]

If that compressor is exposed to below-freezing temperatures, you really have to stay on top of keeping that tank drained - if you let enough liquid build up in that drain line, it can freeze and split open.

That's the only good thing about the OEM petcocks that come on the tank - the liquid stays inside the tank, so even if it does freeze, it doesn't damage anything.

 

[leg17]

Well, success at last.

I started off trying the spiral extractor. I originally thought that there was no way the spiral extractor would break, but it got to the point it made me nervous. I heated the inlet bushing up again in the vise, and ran the extractor in until it was tight. This particular vise is mounted to a 2x4' metal table with a 1/2" top...with the vise, it weighs well over 250lbs. Using a long handle Snap On ratchet and a square drive socket, I was able to put enough force on the bushing with the extractor that it physically moved the table. Damn leverage, you scary! The extractor was making all kinds of groaning noises, so I gave up and went to this:
Even at this point, the brass reducer still didn't want to give up. It took quite a few whacks from a hammer and punch before I finally got this:

I was almost convinced that it had been silver soldered in place, but I eventually got it all out.
I have no idea what was used before, but I'd like to have a bottle of it!

Way to man up.
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Nice job.

 

[Scotland Offshore ABZ]

I now have this:




As a matter of perspective, here it is with a Snap On MG725 and 325:

I have this exact same tool, great piece of kit.

 

[Scotland Offshore ABZ]

I now have this:




As a matter of perspective, here it is with a Snap On MG725 and 325:

Here is my copy of your pic with the same tools LOL

 

[Scotland Offshore ABZ]

MG725, MG325 and my big gun! I use a Crows Foot air connection though!

 

[Jason280]

MG725, MG325 and my big gun! I use a Crows Foot air connection though!

Nice set! Never heard of that type of connection, though....crow's foot?

If that compressor is exposed to below-freezing temperatures, you really have to stay on top of keeping that tank drained - if you let enough liquid build up in that drain line, it can freeze and split open.

You know, that never crossed my mind....I need to address this, as the last thing I want to do is replace the damn thing. Its definitely exposed to freezing temps, so I need to figure out a solution.

 

[thebeekeeper1]

Nice set! Never heard of that type of connection, though....crow's foot?



You know, that never crossed my mind....I need to address this, as the last thing I want to do is replace the damn thing. Its definitely exposed to freezing temps, so I need to figure out a solution.

In the winter you can crack it very slightly and leave it that way. It will evacuate the water on a full time basis, and has no risk of freeze-up.

 

[redmondjp]

In the winter you can crack it very slightly and leave it that way. It will evacuate the water on a full time basis, and has no risk of freeze-up.

That is probably the best idea. Another thought is to put a very small heater down under the tank, something like a 25W incandescent light bulb would do the trick.

Or just put a sign near the exit door of the shop to go drain the tank before leaving.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Nice set! Never heard of that type of connection, though....crow's foot

That type air connection is called a Chicago fitting, and must always be clipped together with a safety clip or wire to prevent accidental detachment. That would be ugly. The fittings are most often used on sandblasters or jackhammers. When I worked in industrial construction those air impacts were called Yo-Yo's by the ironworkers who used them. I assume that term came from passing them to the guy on the steel below by using the hose.

 

[WHT]

Use some heat to heat the fitting then use beeswax and let it soak in, once it has cooled the fitting will thread out practically effortlessly.

Very good recommendation.