# 9A gear cover fix



## derf (Jun 1, 2018)

The gear cover on my 9a has been slowly sagging over time to the point it was rubbing on the spindle gear.


The hinge pin was wobbly, and after inspection it was not any wear on the pin where it goes into the hinge bracket. The wobbliness is because it is not solid in the cover itself. If you look at the pin joint you might notice a large area that looks different that the casting. That's because it is. It's a pour of zinc or tin to secure the pin in the casting.


I fired up my torch and melted out the mixture, and this is what the pin looks like.


To re-cast this joint, I first cleaned up the bracket and turned it true to the pin hole.


I wanted the joint to be as square and tight as I could get it so the pour would not leak out.


 I then ground on the gear cover itself to get it square and fitting the bracket with minimal leakage. To position the cover, I made a tapered sleeve from a piece of pipe to center the gear cover hole to the spindle. Once I got everything in place, I clamped close to the joint.


When I melted out the pour, I saved it in a soup can, and I'm glad I did. At first glance I thought it was just lead, but after I broke some pieces off, I knew it was a  lot harder than lead and did not bend at all. I suspect it is tin or zinc. I remelted with a torch and added a smidget of wheel weight to make up for the small amount that melted and missed the can the first time.


Now it swings like a new one and doesn't drag on anything. Now I'll dress the top off and nobody will ever know......


----------



## craptain (Jun 1, 2018)

That is an excellent repair, and one I will remember if/when mine needs it. 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


----------



## RandyM (Jun 1, 2018)

Bravo Derf, very well done. We thank you for sharing.


----------



## RWanke (Jun 1, 2018)

My 9C cover fit a lot like yours except mine rubbed hard on the top too. Unfortunately someone else “repaired” it in the past by replacing the poured in material with a brass bushing that was good and tight but did not exactly align the hole in the cover with the end of the spindle. I had to do a lot of hand filing and fitting on the arm and boss on the cover to get it right but did eventually get a good fit.  Great job on yours.


----------



## Janderso (Jun 1, 2018)

Well done. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## benmychree (Jun 1, 2018)

I'd suspect that the pour was babbit metal.


----------



## derf (Jun 3, 2018)

Babbit....maybe not. I just found out the hard way that it melts @375F. I powder coated the cover, and when it came out of the oven the hinge pin fell out. So, back to square one. I going to wet sand and recoat the powder coat for a slicker finish, and when I'm satisfied with that, I'll recast it.


----------



## derf (Jun 4, 2018)

Definitely not babbit. I just checked with a propane torch and a infra red thermometer, and this white metal melts at less than 200 degrees. I'm thinking this is cerroloy, cerrosafe or the like. I used the same stuff to make chamber casts in rifle barrels.


----------

