It was a perfect day to wash the R-4A: cloudy, intermittent drizzle, only about
50F/10C outside.
I removed the PTO from the chassis but not the power xformer, so I was a bit
careful not to flood the underside too much. Took some Charlie's Soap
(available locally here in NC - it's a really good surfactant but not as harsh
as 409), some toothbrushes and utility brushes and swirled/scrubbed the top of
the chassis, then rinsed in the kitchen sink with the sink sprayer.
I then sprayed some more Charlie's Soap on the underside and very lightly
worked it in with a utility brush (those brushes with metal handles used for
spreading glue, etc), let it sit a few minutes and sprayed it - making sure to
avoid the area immediately under the power transformer again.
I then poured distilled water over the top, then the underside (except the
xformer again) and popped it into the oven, set at 170F on convection for about
10 minutes, then to "Warm" where it will stay for most of this evening.
I cleaned the PTO dial with Charlie's Soap and it looks like new. There's
brown grease on the single nylon gear - was this applied by the factory? I'm
thinking the PTO is really smooth, so maybe the only thing I'll do with it is
touch up the bearing lube without pulling the whole thing apart.
What's the consensus regarding the brown grease? Should I flush out the ball
bearings with alcohol and re-do with Teflon lube?
73,
Steve Wedge, W1ES/4
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