Victron gearbox disassembly ideas?

[Evan Atkinson]

Bought a 12” Victron pedestal from ‘51 or ‘52. In really nice condition considering how jacked most Victrons appear. This model is one with a continuous oscillator that is engaged/disengaged via a knurled nut/slide bolt on the oscillator wheel that slides one way or the other to give a wide or narrow sweep of oscillation depending on what you desire.

I opened the motor to perform general service as it’s clear this maintenance is overdue and required for the fan to run optimally. It had a kind of “sandy” sound coming from the gearbox so I’m assuming the grease needs replacing. 
 

In the process of disassembly, I’ve noticed that the front and rear bearing keepers are crimped in place and non-removable, which is a bummer as I wanted to wash out the felts. I began taking the gearbox apart and was generally impressed to find two brass or bronze gears that seem in good shape. But that’s where the good impressions ended. I was able to remove the small set of brass gears that engage the rotor worm, but the main bronze drive gear seems it rides on a pivot shaft with a swaged end, making it non-removable without modifications. The lower end with the oscillating wheel is no better: the wheel is hollow at the bottom and has the plate with the oblong cut out crimped in place so it can’t be removed either.
 

So I’m in a dilemma. I need to clean all the old grease out of the gearbox, but it does not appear I will be able to remove the main drive gear without modifications that I don’t plan on making. Does anybody have any good suggestions for ways to clean the gearbox of old grease with the drive gear, pivot shaft, and oscillator wheel in place? Otherwise, I am going to only be able to clean it as best I can, and then there will be a mix of new and old grease.
 

Any thoughts or ideas welcome. Thanks in advance. 

 

[Jeff Whitfield]

Unconventional approach:

The lower portion of the oscillator box with the extended threaded rod ... is it (the rod extending down from the brass gear through the top of the oscillator box and into the lower portion of the oscillator box) screwed on with a reverse thread? I would wipe down the lower portion of the oscillator box to remove grease, wrap it in cloth friction tape to protect whatever paint remains and use a pipe wrench to try and pry it one direction or another. You'll need to put that motor in a vice and clamp that brass gear in place so it won't turn. With enough elbow grease, I imagine the gear or lower portion will unscrew and/or you can pull it apart.

Edited May 6, 2024 by Jeff Whitfield
clarity

[Evan Atkinson]

I like the way you think Jeff and thanks for the reply. Sadly, I'm all but certain the oscillator wheel is pressed (not threaded) onto the bottom end of the pivot shaft with the bronze gear swaged in place at the top. Victor probably assembled it from the top with the gear and shaft already married, pressed the wheel onto the bottom, and then inserted the bottom plate (with cutout and bolt) then crimped it. From all that I can see, Victor never intended the gear, shaft and wheel to come apart. A real head-scratcher, but for a fan considered mid-tier in quality (at best), not totally surprising.

[Duane Burright]

I have the table version, it's the same way. I just cleaned the gearbox as best that I could and put in plenty of fresh grease.

[Chris Wimberly]

I restored a similar tabletop version. But my oscillator disc had a separate machine screw with a knurled head. I was able to take it apart enough to clean it all out, as shown in the pictures.

 

Maybe the pictures will provide some info?