Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Poorly maintained Simplex XL seems to have oil leaks everywhere. Where do I start?

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Topic: Poorly maintained Simplex XL seems to have oil leaks everywhere. Where do I start?

Richard Hamilton
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1341
From: Evansville, Indiana
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 06-25-2010 07:47 AM

quote: Louis Bornwasser
the women I have in the booth are unusually good with the small items

hehe...you set yourself up for that one. [Razz]

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Tony Bandiera Jr
Film God

Posts: 3067
From: Moreland Idaho
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 06-25-2010 12:57 PM

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
Also, Old black wrinkle X-Ls do not have heat treated main castings. So they are very porus and the oil leaks right through the botto of the casting. They started heat treating them when General Precision took the Simplex over. This is the sole reaon why I will never buy or install a black wrinkle version.

Mark

Mark, I get so tired of hearing you whine about the old XL's [Big Grin]

I have one of the very first machines and it DOES NOT LEAK at all. Hell, the SH-1000 loses more oil than the projector head does.

I think the problem you're talking about may be the first generation of NSS machines or even the horrible Singer versions.

And my experience with the GPL's you love so much is the exact opposite, they don't leak but are horrible machines, I had a drive-in with 5 of them and the heat of the lamp would distort the castings and the machines would lose focus, stability and get noisier as they heated up. When we replaced them with black XL's (can't recall the vintage) the problems went away.

quote: Louis Bornwasser
Not only are the seal kits (for main drive) expensive and unnecessary, they also form a primitive oil pump which pumps oil overboard. You are slightly worse off afterward. What a waste! Louis

Louis, are you kidding? The seal kits DO NOT result in oil "pumping overboard" and are not a waste. If you're getting increased oil leakage with a seal kit it means you did not seal the rear cover properly.

I can get a leak-proof seal with even the old covers with the tubing seals but one has to make sure that EVERY LAST TRACE of oil is cleaned off of the seal and the mating surface on the casting. Otherwise it will leak a lot of oil as it simply flows under the seal.

The seal kits are outrageously priced from Wrong though, especially the older gear-drive kit (which should be cheaper as the costs of manufacturing has already been amortized out.) but what's a guy to do?

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Sam D. Chavez
Film God

Posts: 2153
From: Martinez, CA USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 06-26-2010 07:55 AM

I think Louis is saying the seal kit encourages overfilling and then the lower gears of the Simplex churn the oil around.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-26-2010 02:00 PM

quote: Tony Bandiera Jr
I think the problem you're talking about may be the first generation of NSS machines or even the horrible Singer versions.

Sorry Tony it's the original Black Wrinkle machines. My comment was only regarding the casting itself which is a piece of crap! Much of the internal parts on those machines were the best, especially the stars and cams. How do I know they are crap? I have cut the fronts off close to a hundred X-L's to install lens turrets on them over the years. I also have a friend who is a metallurgist and custom knife maker who does all his own hardening and metal processing. He took one look at some of the cut out pieces from the black machines and pronounced it crap aluminum. Not only are those castings not tempered to any degree but the quality of the aluminum itself is poor. They did not start tempering castings until the machines went blue hammertone. They way the metal machines on the black castings is that it comes off like sand... while on any other casting it actually machines properly and produces the normal "chips" of metal. Now if you want to argue with a degreed metallurgist you're welcome to... I'll send you his phone number or you can come on my Facebook page and do it. I am only stating what is fact.

P.S., Some of the fronts of those black machines are only 1/16" thick! Later castings are about 1/4" consistently. Strong's castings are even better and some of the finest quality castings I've ever worked with. It is very likely they are spun cast.

quote: Louis Bornwasser
Actually the women I have in the booth are unusually good with the small items: cleanliness, oiling, etc.

I wish I had more women on the booths that could deal with the bigger things! unfortunately out of all the locations I service... about 140 there are just three female projectionists. One real good lookin one too! So in my case the seal kits are uber important to the machine actually still having any oil in it by my next service visit.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 06-27-2010 08:12 AM

I NEVER oil in a theatre unless I swap an intermittent. That is properly the job of the on-site staff. I do not want the oiling responsibility.

After an intermittent repair (or 2 or 3) management will mandate oiling. Trust me, no other "system" works. Louis

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-29-2010 09:05 AM

Louis.... Mandated or not first management has to find a way to keep a trained booth monger for just 6.50 an hour! Then worry about if he can oil or not... Fortunately most older machines leak badly enough that it is merely necessary just to keep them topped off.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 06-29-2010 09:07 PM

Oh, well! Sure sells a lot of intermittent overhauls. Louis

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Ian Parfrey
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1049
From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E
Registered: Feb 2009

posted 06-29-2010 10:08 PM

Easy fixed....

Put in Centurys. [Big Grin]

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