No Gear Oil Reading in my Headstock

[erikmannie]

So I used my PM-1660TL lathe today for about 9 hours. I was going to keep on going, but after a successful run at 620 RPM it started to make a funny noise when it was winding down.

I was shifting it in neutral to center my workpiece in my 4J chuck. That’s when I noticed this:

The reading for the oil level in the headstock is not even showing. Here is a closer shot of that:

So I shut it down for the night, and I will go get some hydraulic oil tomorrow. I just wonder where the oil went.

The future, I should adopt the practice of checking that sight glass every 15 minutes or so.

Does anybody have any idea where the oil may have gone? When I got the machine about 2 months ago, I drained the factory oil and properly added what I remember to be 2 gallons of the recommended hydraulic oil. It has been at the proper reading up until today.

 

[erikmannie]

I took off the side cover, and I do see some oil down here as seen in the photo. I don’t think that would be my Mobilmet 766 CF because I don’t see how the CF could get in there.

Hopefully I can just add a gallon or two of the recommended hydraulic oil and be on my way. I will keep an eye on that sight glass. Maybe it is a leaky headstock.

I also see that some sort of oil has run off of this “shelf” down into the bottom of the casting. I’m really kicking myself for not keeping a closer eye on that sight glass.

 

[erikmannie]

I took off the top so I can see very well what is going on inside. It is extremely beautiful in there!

I can see that the oil level is just below the site glass, and there appears to be most of the oil still in there.

 

[erikmannie]

I recommend that everybody do this with their machine because it is really cool to see the gear shafts and gears shifting around when you switch gears.

 

[erikmannie]

I think that I caught a break by hearing that one noise and stopping when I did. I am sure that when I add a half a gallon or so of oil then I will be fine.

Now I have definitely learned to keep an eye on that sight glass and not assume that the oil that you put in there will stay in there.

 

[markba633csi]

You must have a seal that's leaking somewhere- to me that looks like too fast of a loss
-Mark

 

[erikmannie]

You must have a seal that's leaking somewhere- to me that looks like too fast of a loss
-Mark

It is definitely too fast of a loss. I will call or send an email to PM on this.

 

[mksj]

Based on the location it looks like the drain plug might be leaking. I would clean up the oil and drain it, and refill to the site gauge and then run it for 30 minutes and inspect for an oil leak. Recheck that the drain plug is not leaking, after draining use some Teflon (yellow or blue) tape when inserting (do not over tighten). If the oil level seems to drain to a given level, when you popped the top off see what through hole in the headstock case that seems to line up with. You should have no oil leakage from the headstock, I have a similar lathe and after 2 years there has been no oil leakage.

 

[Joeman77]

You must have a seal that's leaking somewhere- to me that looks like too fast of a loss
-Mark

Nice machine, I wouldn't think anything that new would have that kind of troubles yet. Not to ask what might sound like a stupid question, but are you sure a drain plug isn't leaking?
I only ask because I've been there, after tearing mine (different manufacturer but same idea) apart chasing oil leaks for years I found a secondary drain well hidden that wasn't mentioned in the documentation.

 

[Winegrower]

I have a similar lathe and after 2 years there has been no oil leakage.

Same here, I filled the Takisawa maybe a year ago, it's exactly the same level today.

Maybe this is not a popular viewpoint, but this is why I fear purchasing a new machine. There can be any level of surprises lying in wait. With a used unit, you can at least cross examine the current owner. And also don't buy at auction. Unless it's a REALLY good deal.