This really grinds me..grinder help

[Garageguy65]

If the pics are too large my apologies.

So. I have a dewalt angle grinder. D 28402. ( the D stands for don't work).

So I decide to earn some brownie points and remove the diving board platform from the pool the little lady has wanted gone for years.. Done. Sheared off the bolts. Now I have 4 bolts sticking up. Not wanting anyone hurt I go to grab my angle grinder.

****. I forgot. It's broke.

The ring & pinion gear is shot. Only used a handful of times.

Grinder is slipping on certain spots and grabbing on others.

You can see the gear is shot from 11 to 3 o clock position.



So. I am going to be and down to the local dewalt store. Gave the guy my model number and he gave me a pinion n ring gear.

Shot back home and started tearing this baby apart.. No problem. Simple $h!t right. No.


I got the gear box and motor separated. Replaced the pinion gear.. Simple. Nut off, pinion off,,pinion on. Nut on.. Done.


Next up. Ring gear. I removed the snap ring thing a mc jigger clip from the ring gear which was a act of congress to get off. (Where the screwdriver tip is) should slide right off.

The ring gear should slip right out in theory right. .




I hate the people at dewalt.

For the love of everything do you think I can get this stupid $/@'skdh&/£] damn ring gear out?? Tried unscrewing the shaft on the bottom side. Nothing. Can't budge it.



Look at the new ring gear. No grooves no key ways nada. Just a freaking simple hole on the end of the gear.




So after inventing a few new cuss words I grab a beer and the ol trusty iPad and pull up a schematic of the don't work 28402 angle grinder. Well there it is. The schematic. But alas I don't see the damn ring gear. Only a whole gear box.

After a visit to a forum I see the only way to replace the ring gear is to replace the whole gear box??

So why the hell does dewalt sell a ring gear when the damn thing won't come out??

If I have to buy the whole damn box fine. I would love to get my old one fixed and use for a spare..

So what do you guys think here. What am I missing??

 

[kingchevy]

Appears that the ring gear is a press fit. You should be able to drive it out with a small deepwell socket rigged up in a vice.

 

[Olinrj]

I replaced the ring gear on my dewalt grinder. IIRC, a few choice words were used. It did eventually come off the shaft. Best of luck.

 

[RivennHewn]

I had a similar problem with a grinder.

I called a construction supply company that I use.

They came to my job site, picked it up, then delivered the repaired grinder back to my job site.

Cost me $40

 

[58Yeoman]

I use the $20 HF grinder. Sounds like ****, and the shaft lock button fell out years ago. I found a brand new one at a garage sale a few weeks ago for $5. I threw the old one on the junk pile. No hassles.

 

[OldmanB]

Those grinders are 89 bucks new, save the misery of fixing it and throw it away and buy a new one.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Thanks for posting this. It is interesting to see how they actually go together. And for all the times people say we are just a throwaway society, you try and fix things. Good luck and I hope it works out. There will be a certain amount of satisfaction when it's done. Just out of curiosity you, how much did the new parts cost?

 

[LS6 Tommy]

All more reasons there are no DeWalt tools in my cabinets at home and if I had it my way, there wouldn't be any in use at work, either. IMO, they're overrated Black and Decker one notch above homeowner cheapo ****. I know lots of people use DW stuff, but I've never had good luck with any if it.

Tommy

 

[flyng_fool]

Get a HF POS just to get those bolts cut and call it a day. Fix the DeWalt in your leisure time.

 

[MushCreek]

If ya had an angle grinder, you could just cut the old gear off..... (sorry, couldn't resist).

I'm not sure how you get the old one off. The new one could be heated and dropped on. With no keyway, that gear has to be a pretty tight fit to stay put.

 

[zkling]

You need to press it out of the housing and then off the shaft. An arbor press would be the best tool here. I'm amazed that it wore that far under normal 4.5" grinder use. Depending on the price of the gear (usually power tool gears ain't cheap), I probably would have just bought a new grinder.

Thanks for posting this. It is interesting to see how they actually go together. And for all the times people say we are just a throwaway society, you try and fix things. Good luck and I hope it works out. There will be a certain amount of satisfaction when it's done. Just out of curiosity you, how much did the new parts cost?

Agreed, however I have also found great satisfaction throwing a headache into the trash and getting on with life. When it comes to common power tools that have drive train problems, it usually ends up in the round bin.

 

[panknuckshovel]

You have a DeWalt store?

 

[NUTTSGT]

I just bought this same Dewalt model about two weeks ago. I hope mine doesn't give me issues.


BTW, I moved this thread to the tool section.

 

[383 240z]

I would think it would HAVE to be a press fit. How else would it transfer power. There is no keyway to lock the gear to the shaft. I think some heat and a press, you will have it apart in short order. Keith

 

[zkling]

You have a DeWalt store?

There's one here in town too. If you are in a larger city you probably have one as well.

http://www.dewalt.com/find-service-center.aspx

 

[Garageguy65]

Thank you all for the suggestions and replys.

Thanks for posting this. It is interesting to see how they actually go together. And for all the times people say we are just a throwaway society, you try and fix things. Good luck and I hope it works out. There will be a certain amount of satisfaction when it's done. Just out of curiosity you, how much did the new parts cost?

The pinion $8 and the ring $10. It was cake coming apart. My old dewalt wasn't like this one. Ring n pinion slipped right out. New gearbox runs $31 online. Web page is ereplacement parts.com

All more reasons there are no DeWalt tools in my cabinets at home and if I had it my way, there wouldn't be any in use at work, either. IMO, they're overrated Black and Decker one notch above homeowner cheapo ****. I know lots of people use DW stuff, but I've never had good luck with any if it.

Tommy

My last one I got as a refurb from ebay. Used the snot out of it. No problems.. The motor didn't wear out it was the case. How the gears held into the case wore out and it got sloppy.
I have 18v dewalt drills, recip saw, flashlight and skill saw. Had a bad chuck on a drill but besides that none have failed me...

If ya had an angle grinder, you could just cut the old gear off..... (sorry, couldn't resist).

I'm not sure how you get the old one off. The new one could be heated and dropped on. With no keyway, that gear has to be a pretty tight fit to stay put.

That's what the plasma cutter is for.

You need to press it out of the housing and then off the shaft. An arbor press would be the best tool here. I'm amazed that it wore that far under normal 4.5" grinder use. Depending on the price of the gear (usually power tool gears ain't cheap), I probably would have just bought a new grinder.



Agreed, however I have also found great satisfaction throwing a headache into the trash and getting on with life. When it comes to common power tools that have drive train problems, it usually ends up in the round bin.

Thing is the new gearbox runs $31 online. I don't have a press. So I may end up trying to heat the gear and hammer it off with a deep well socket. If that don't work I will toss the gearbox and buy a new one. The motor is brand new. When I cracked the shell open there was hardly any grease. Must have been a factory screw up.

You have a DeWalt store?

Yeah factory service center.

I would think it would HAVE to be a press fit. How else would it transfer power. There is no keyway to lock the gear to the shaft. I think some heat and a press, you will have it apart in short order. Keith

I have a map gas torch. I may do that. Hammer it with a deep well socket. If I ruin it no big. Just order a new one. Just a pain in the ****.

 

[bczygan]

You're trying to repair a tool???

I don't believe that is allowed anymore, here in the US of A.

I think you're supposed to support the economy by going to your big box store and getting a shiny new China made tool!

 

[PureLeaf]

I actually just did this repair on the exact same grinder. You need a hydraulic press. Remove the c-clip, push the gear out through the bottom, then you reverse the whole assembly by pressing in the opposite direction. Also replaced my pinion gear while I was at it as it was slightly damaged.

Heres a guide:

http://www.minibuggy.net/forum/shop-talk/19998-fix-your-broken-grinder-dewalt-4-1-2-a.html

 

[zkling]

I bet you could rig up a ball joint press if you don't have an arbor or hydraulic press. Heat and a hammer are not going to be a good method for this. If you mushroom the shaft or overheat the bearings you will have more problems and parts needed.

 

[IndyGarage]

Not really worth fixing an angle grinder. Usually the switch breaks before the gear bites it. Next time buy Makita or Metabo.

 

[wantacoe]

I have a craftsman I have had for 25 years, only had to put a set of brush's in it once. I picked up a cheap China one at a swap meet for like $9, I figure if I ever need one in a pinch it is better than nothing.

 

[sberry]

The cousin to that unit is a BD7750, its at Walmart for 30 and sometimes less at Menards. Its 3x the unit the DeWalt is and cost 1/3. I probably could have dug a box of parts out for you from old ones till we changed.
It would be one thing if it was even the same grinder as the cheap one but it isn't although it shares some parts. Walmart must have spec 'ed it, didn't want to be a warranty return center so they toughen it up. I wouldn't have bothered to fix it either.

 

[exmaxima1]

I've never owned an angle grinder until yesterday, but picked up an old Dewalt DW402 for $5. Needed a cord so while on the bench I also opened the gearbox to check the lube. I found the gears were immaculate, but totally dry---the grease was in a tidy little puddle away from everything. Not sure how that was supposed to work, so I spread it all over everything, including the support bearing on the backside of the gear.

Where is that support bearing on the newer Dewalts? Does that little stub protruding thru the gear engage into the gearbox cover? Sure looks short.

 

[pontgta]

Here it is the year 2020....i need answers lol

 

[Jland]

Drillmaster 4 1/2" angle grinder from Harbor Freight... bought 2 for less than $20. Its only 4amps but I use them with cutoff wheels.. grinding wheels and wire brushes. In 3 years with regular use zero issues.. I have run these things for 30+ minutes straight, the head gets to hot to touch and they keep on going.. decent ****!

 

[BiggityBen]

i have restored some old "free" shop equipment i inherited from work. free is in quotes because it took me a lot of man hours to make them nice again. an old rusty hand truck, a great Strong-Hold 7 gauge steel table that sat outside for years, a trailer, etc. i used my corded Makita 7.5amp grinder for hours and hours with wire brushes and sanding discs to grind all the rust and old paint off. that is on top of all the other projects i've used it for. it's not the most powerful grinder by any means but it's a work horse and even comes with a nice case for less than $100.

link here if interested

 

[IndyGarage]

Five year old thread - I hope you threw that grinder away.

That Dewalt is the most dangerous angle grinder I have ever used - they stupidly put the paddle switch in the middle of the barrel, so you have no leverage over the grinding action.

Every other paddle switch grinder I own, Porter Cable, Makita, Hitachi, Metabo all have the paddle at the end of the barrel - Whoever designed that grinder should be fired.