Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Generic replacement for Simplex X-L horizontal main drive bearings?

This is topic Generic replacement for Simplex X-L horizontal main drive bearings? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 05-15-2004, 08:50 PM:

The gear-side horizontal main drive bearing on a Simplex Valdez [Smile]

, I mean, X-L, PR-1013 I recently acquired leaks quite a bit of oil. I understand the P-1409 bearing is not oil-tight...is there a generic equivalent to the the P-1409 and will a double-shielded version of the generic bearing hold the oil in the sump?

Thanks! [thumbsup]

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-16-2004, 07:50 AM:

Jon,

You are more than likely overfilling the head with too much oil. Any excess oil will run out the input shaft and get all over everything... sometimes even the port window [Eek!]

.

But.... there is a solution for it if you are using it on either a 4 star or 5 star soundhead and that is to order a seal kit from Strong for the thing. This gives you a rubber seal thats pressed into the bearing retainer plate, a new gear or pulley thats ground on the O.D. for mating to the lip of the seal, a teflon washer to seal the area by the inner retaining nut that holds the gear in place, plus new keeper screws for the bearing retainer plate. I reccomending ordering an extra shaft key as well as sliding the gear back on the shaft is sometimes difficult and you may loos the key [Mad]

. At the same time I almost always rebuild the oil sight glass if its the front mounted variety as they also generally leak badly on an old machine. The seal kit is not cheap, but less than 300 bucks for the 4 star and is yet less expensive for the 5 star. The parts to re-seal the sight glass are less than 5 bucks. Once you've done all this don't expect the leaks to completely disappear..... The main castings on the older Simplex projectors are really crappy..... VERY PORUS sand castings!! A small bit of oil seapage will still ocur right through the bottom of the projector and the only way to stop most of that up is to have the projector rebuilt and the castings powder coated at the same time by a reputable shop [thumbsup]

.

BTW: There is a big benefit of installing the seal kit and that is that the oil level in the projector can be increased three fold.... A big advangate over the couple of ounces it previously held [thumbsup]

Mark @ CLACO