rollermatic coupler

[christfr]

hey all am looking to find either new or used a good agi coupler for my 67 rapid dry. the one in the machine is really on its last leg and would love to be able to find a good one. any one out there please let me know will be happy to buy it from you.. thanks so much chris

 

[rollermatic]

beautiful machine

you have there. i'm not sure what you mean by the agi coupler, i don't have a lot of extra parts for rollermatics but one of my machines is going to be a parts machine as the tubs are rusted out.

mark michaels, who i did get a ton of stuff from last year might have it, i will talking to him soon and can ask him if i know what it is.

is it the ball coupling that connects the agitate shaft to the mechanism?

 

[christfr]

you got it.. any help would be awesome.. i had finished up with this machine about a year ago and then parked it now the coupler is on its way out the door so im afraid to run the machine.

 

[rollermatic]

let me do some checking here

and i will talk to mark.

here is a pic of the transmission from one of my machines, either a 67 or 68 model, can't remember. is it the same as this one.

if so i will send this pic to mark, he also has that guy he buys from in pittsburgh, the one i got the water and oil bellows and tub seals from. mark says he still has a lot of stuff.

i didn't know the ball coupler went out, great, one more thing to wear out on these great old washers!

i will get back to you on it.

 

[joelippard]

I didn't know

they really wore out either. It can get a little squeaky sounding in the ball. What condition does it have that makes you think it's worn out?

 

[cfz2882]

adjustable?

looking at some pics of that joint,it looks like the lash
might be adjustable?-looks like there are 2 keepers that
can be removed in order to turn in the cap until the desired
lash is acheived then reinstall the keepers(much like
adjusting bearing preload of carrier bearings in a "banjo"
type automotive rear axle)

 

[rickr]

.

The lash is adjustable on the Rollermatics that I have worked on. Don't know about the model Chris has though. I think if it were to be left with too much lash, pounding away for a number of years, the joint would be too worn to adjust.

Here is a pixs of the Rollermatic that I just installed in a machine. You can see the adjustment set screws. Those are loosened, then take the joint apart by unscrewing the "plug" on the bottom, and inspect for wear/damage, then lightly oil the plastic insert in the joint, and reassemble. Do not tighten it too tight! Then replace the retainer and set screws.

 

[rollermatic]

thanks for the above

info (rickr) on oiling that joint. i have never taken this ball joint apart on any of mine.

i see in the above pic that your transmission has the earlier style rubber coupler like the one's on my 65 machines. when i first started tearing into rollermtics last year i was surprised that they used 2 different style agitator couplers.

 

[christfr]

well like i said any help with a new part would be awesome.. the prob i have is that i had done a rebuild on the machine months ago and all was fine. machine ran fine. then it started to knock on the down strok. i took the upper end apart to make sure all was good there no probs found. took the lower end apart nothing is hitting or binding up. when the machine is running dry or on slow speed all is fine, but on reg speed agi with water in the tub it will knock when it starts the down stroke. all i can think of i the coupler is wearing and causing play. i had a rollermatic years ago that was fine till one day while running it started to sound funny and in the mid of a stroke the coupler broke and the arm then caught the pump housing and crunched the pump cover. any ideas im more than happy to hear them i just cant figure this out

 

[fltcoils]

Adjust it

Back off the keeper screw and tighten the nut 1/6 turn. reset keeper screw. You could do worse.

I adjusted my 1-18's, took it apart and oiled it like joelippard said. It isn't hard.

Note: from archive you can see that I took my tub out and flipped it over to get to the transmission parts. That made it much easier for me to work on things. oil the wick, tighten to give some preload/tension to arm. not really that hard. I used mobile 1 I think. just like in my VPI-HW19 turntable main bushing.

Minus dirt, the metal ball will wear more slowly than plastic. Perhaps the plastic can be swapped in/out from other arms? Or made in a machine shop by measuring the ball, the can, etc.

 

[jetcone]

Actually

I have tightend those pretty tight in the past to get the play out and they have run for years. You want it to resist slightly on slip around the ball with absolutely no play in the joint. I have never seen one wear out yet we are deeper into the future now so it could. There are two delrin washers inside there that the ball slips around, they were molded for this part and are the only material GM could find that would resist the pounding this joint takes. But the delrin will wear out eventually it is a plastic after all.

 

[rollermatic]

i checked into a box of parts i bought last summer

from mark michaels. i did find that i had bought a ball coupling from him which means he may have more of them.

this one will fit the rollermatics that use the metal ball coupler, the one that looks like an acorn. at least the instruction sheet that came with it shows it attached to such a coupler. it may also fit the earlier models which have the rubber coupler, that i'm not sure.

it has a ball and a nylong sleeve the ball rests in, and a nut ring that is screwed on and is adjustable as we all know. the ball itself will screw into a threaded nipple that is attached to the coupler.

i have the instruction sheet with it which includes the part no. i can supply this info if you like.

i spoke with mark last week and will prob be talking to him soon again, i will give him the no. and see if he has any more.

i also know he has 10 oil and 10 water bellows in for rolermatics, 35 bucks each. not a bad price i think. the bellows pliers he is listing for 35 bucks as well on his e bay site.

thought you may be interested in this potential source for a new ball joint.