Leaking Oil Help

I appreciate it. But I do want to say that I am not unhappy with your service. I knew the warranty and chances when I decided to go with the cheaper Chinese version. You guys have been more than helpful and understanding with this issue. I’m still recommending PM to anyone that asks.

They definitely didn’t tell me to disassemble the gearbox. And I have been leaving out some details when discussing the back and forth between Mike and I because I didn’t want to create an expectation for others that may run into this same issue. I really can’t remember the original reason I decided to remove the faceplate, I’ll have to read back through when I’m not on my phone. But it was probably more due to my inexperience working on a lathe, and my inability to find a mechanic willing to come look at it.
For the most recent events, I do understand that it’s hard to make that kind of repair at the warehouse. That post was a lot of frustration coming out from the entire situation and less about the failed assembly.
I did end up just emailing the tech department again last week because I got busy at work, and we have come up with a solution that I’m happy with. The details of which I will leave out here for the same reasons. Hopefully I can get this thing going.

-Tony
 
Well, I think I've got it figured out.

I decided to order some gasket material on my own since PM wasn't sure how long the gaskets they ordered were going to take. Worst case scenario it didn't work, and I would be right back to waiting. After some research I decided on a 12x24 roll of Fel-Pro gasket sheet.

I purchase a hole punch set from Harbor Freight to help with the different sized holes. Then using a rule, I laid everything out.
Hollow Punch Set.jpeg
Hollow Punch.jpeg


Punching the holes
Punched Holes.jpeg
Finished Gasket.jpeg


I installed everything last night. It was so much easier than trying to get everything to line up without disturbing the "paste" gasket making compounds since I did have to slide a rule in between to align the shifting blocks. As of this morning, not a drop of oil is showing, and the knobs turn easily enough. Tonight, I will run it through its paces and do a test thread to make sure everything was aligned correctly. But for now, I am very optimistic.
 
What type (product number) of Fel-Pro gasket material did you use? Good to hear things are working
out OK for your lathe.
 
Final update. We have threads again. Finished assembling it enough to safely check the gearing to make sure I lined the shifting blocks up correctly. 16 tpi on the knobs, 16 tpi on the brass rod.
IMG_5531.jpeg


Full disclosure, oil is still leaking ever so slightly at the very bottom, but it’s so minimal that I can live with it for quite awhile. Whenever the true replacement gaskets arrive from PM I will decide if I want to go through all that again. At this point I’m just ready to use the lathe again.

Design suggestion for you guys, add a way to keep the shift blocks from rotating once the brass shifting forks are in place. Maybe some sort of key with circlips keeping the block over the key.
 
Glad that it was worked out - Still some things that we need to address there, but glad you are up and running!
 
Great thread! Albeit, sad story with a happy ending. Glad you got it working. Even with a little leak. This thread caught my eye as I have a PM1236 and it has the same leak!! It has been leaking for some time (couple years?) but the lathe is only about 4 years old. I, at first, thought it was just a collection of cutting oils, but after cleaning it up, and not using the lathe much, the accumulation was there again. It is very slight. Honestly, I did not follow up on it as I do not use the lathe much. It just got put on the back burner. Now the warranty is up, but it does not sound like much can be done anyways, that I am willing to get into at this point. Glad to see a response from PM in this thread. Not sure if I will tackle a repair (as it is a slow leak) or just live with it. It sounds like I have about the same abilities and confidence as @wnchstrtnfldvlle has, so, I too, am not in a hurry to disassemble it.


Thank you to the OP for posting this issue, and documenting the process so well, and to everyone who contributed!! Your posts, suggestions, ideas, and brainstorming help many who might not even post the question.

Cheers,
Shawn
 
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wnchstrtnfldvlle said:
I want to preface this by saying I have been working the issue with tech support over at QMT, and they have been more than helpful. But I have exhausted what they can help me with through email and the warranty, so now I am here to seek some help and advice.

The 1440-2V lathe is leaking oil, and I am trying to see where I need to start.
View attachment 500363View attachment 500364View attachment 500365
Preliminary steps taken were

1. I cleaned the entire area and see where the oil is coming from. The only visible oil is located at the from right of the headstock area.
2. After a little disassembly I noticed the bolts were loose on the piece where the lowest bar (name?) on the front of the lathe enters the gearbox. One was missing that I had to replace and the others were loose. Tightened all of those and cleaned up the mess.
3. In a span of about 10 hours with no use the oil reappeared in the same spot.
4. The oil in the third pic was after the overnight check. It's the small puddle. The larger stain was from the original leak and some coolant that sprayed out while I was changing out the original coolant system.

The seam where that plate meets the casing may need some gasket material, but I'm not sure how to disassemble down to that specific part to check. I'm not afraid of trying, but before I go down that rabbit hole I'm looking for insight from those more experienced.

1. Any advice on this from those more knowledgeable on disassembly or possible places to look?
2. If it does need broken down, any info for lathe mechanics around the Atlanta area would be great. Or maybe a good diagram? I will check the manual it came with but I don't remember seeing anything on breaking it down.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
HI I had an oil leak on my geared head milling machine that I could not find. it happened after I changed the oil in the gear case. I finally took it all apart to change the seals, while cleaning the interior of the case I noticed a lot of porosity in the casting. out of desperation I took green Loctite and coated the spots that I suspected may be the root cause.
It has been about 8 months now and no leaks anymore!!
Rich
 
Didn't read all the reply's but I have one of these generic 1440s with the same problem and it leaks also. The funny thing is the sight glasses always show the correct oil levels. My conclusion is its a porous casting.
 
I really hate to reply to this thread but I am now extremely frustrated. This might be a China lathe but I still paid $11K for it and suggesting that its leaking oil OH WELL not much you can do frustrates me. If I said I have 30hrs on this thing I would be exaggerating. I now have ALL 3 gear boxes leaking oil and at this point I do not feel I should have to take all this apart to fix.
The castings on these lathes are worse than sub optimal.
I get it is tough to get stuff from China but stocking NOTHING for this lathe IMO is not right. Had I realized this I would have most likely never purchased this lathe.
PM has been helpful but that isn't fixing this lathe.
The worse thing is that PM has a gasket coming from China for the lower unit and this may not even fix the leak. I have pulled the cover off and did not see a crack in the gasket plus I silicone the bolts going back in. So with that being said I will have to wait another 2-3 month to try the next thing.
I also have a gear noise in high range that has me concerned.
I am ready for a truck to come pick this up.
 
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