Progress pillar drill - oil help please

[tigerturnings]

Hi all,

I have a Progress 2GS geared head pillar drill that I bought second hand a few years ago. I've repainted it and it's turned out to be a great machine but with one big problem: it leaks oil considerably and this is starting to end up on the workpiece and the other nearby items in the shed.

The oil appears to be coming from two sources: a drip comes from the approximate region of the left of the head where the gear change lever and oil level indicator are situated. There is also often an excess of oil on the spindle above the chuck, which of course flies off as the machine starts up if left in place. According to the inbuilt indicator, the oil level is acceptable so I don't think that I simply overfilled it.

I've been wiping it down before use every time for a few months now, but would like a more permanent solution. Does anyone know what's likely to be at fault, and whether it's reasonably easy to obtain and replace any relevant parts? Or is it time to look for a drill with sealed for life bearings?

Thanks in advance

Neil

 

[DaveL]

Neil,

Have you had the drill to bits? Are there oil seals on the places that are currently leaking? If the answer is yes to both of these then new seals are required. :-$
Do you have the manual for the drill? Or is there a label that gives the type and amount of oil that should be used in the gear box?
One 'trick' used on old enfield gearboxs was to use a grease and oil mix to stop the contents hitting the floor to quick. Upping the grade of oil to a thicker one should help, unless you already have say EP90 in the thing now. :shock:

If there are standard type ball/roller bearing fitted you should be able to buy replacements with an oil seal fitted on one side.
The gear change, does the shaft get turned or moved in/out to change gear? If its rotatory then could you fit an o ring between the knob and the casing?

 

[engineer one]

well, at least you know why it was sold second hand :lol:

if the drill had been standing idle for a time, than maybe an oil seal
had dried out, letting the oil through. as dave has said looks like you
need to take the top off, and get someone who knows oil seals and
bearings to look at them for you. just to get more accuracy, a set
of new bearings and seals might be the way to go, certainly cheaper
than a new drill :twisted:

paul :wink:

 

[Bean]

Neil
First off you do not need anyone to look at it, this is a job you should be able to do with a few simple tools.

Dave is right in that you can replace the bearings with sealed ones, always useful. If there are any oil seals on the shafts take them out carefully and take them to your local bearing shop (look in Yellow pages) along with the bearings, There will be a code marked on the bearings, the code will allow them to supply the correct replacements. If there is no code and they are worth thier salt they will be able to identify a suitable replacement

Go for it you will find out a hell of a lot about your drill, you will fix it and have a great if oily time doing it

 

[9fingers]

I have a similar machine in the electronics lab that I'm (meant to be ) in charge of in the day job, which started to leak around the quill and delivered a horizontal line across the shirt and tie of the first person to use it each day.
(yes I know about ties and drills - we always tuck the ends in our shirts!)

I fitted an inverted empty tuna fish can to the underside of the quill. Now when the machine starts the oil is slung outwards onto the inner surface of the can and then appears as a drip on the table every now and then which can be wiped off. We now have cleaner shirts and less irate wives!

I have also changed the oil to the thickest gear oil I could find. Now whilst this may not be the oil recommended, the machine has only light use and I can't see it doing much harm.

I did this about 17 years ago and the drill is going strong.

HTH

Bob

 

[tigerturnings]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to advise me, I am relieved to hear that it ought to be fixable relatively easily.

To answer the questions Dave raised, I've not had it fully disassembled nor do I have the manual (although I see that Griffiths Engineering has copies for sale). The label states to use Shell Vitrea 69 oil, which a local dealer said is now known as ISO 150 machine oil, and this is what I'm currently using. The gear change handle is pivoted from the head and moves in an arc to change gear.

Based on the advice here, I'll fit a suitable tuna-type can to the machine and thicken the oil for an immediate remedy, then once I am back at uni and have a bit more free time I'll plan to strip it down and replace any seal or bearing that might be part of the problem.

Thanks again,

Neil

 

[engineer one]

seems like its been like that for so long, that you wonder whether any
more modern version of the same drill would be the same, maybe no one
has complained :twisted: :lol:

paul :wink: