Dart 15 Forums

Hi ,
does anybody know how to extract the tube that the trolley wheels rotate around . One of mine has unbelievably worn through and snapped off . It absolutely refuses to move and I have given up trying to get it out before I wreck the outer tube . I have sprayed a can of penetrating fluid onto joint but no movement . Any suggestions gratefully received .
Cheers Derek

You could try warming the outer tube with a blow torch.

Mike ,
I tried a blow torch , I heated tube as much as I dare but worried about melting / hardening tube .
Cheers
Derek

It's the stub axle you've bust, that's happened to me twice over the years. If you sail on the sea a combination of salt and sand grinds away in the gap between trolley wheel and aluminium tube. Eventually it gives up and breaks. I got a local firm to weld the two pieces back together but aluminium welding is a difficult art and probably not worth the bother. My repair lasted a couple of weeks then snapped again, it was binned and I acquired some solid aluminium tube which was cut and drilled to size, with enough over to give me a spare.

The stub axle is held in place with a bolt through the outer and inner tube, which can be equally difficult to remove. The bolt is made of steel and reacts with the aluminium of the trolley. A good smack with a hammer should get it shifted. You may find soaking the broken end of the trolley (minus wheel) in a bucket of hot water may get things moving, though you may need to repeat the process several times.

I think you can get a replacement tube from windsport.

Kevin
1615

Tough one, Derek. I was fortunate after my trolley got smashed up at Carnac. Maybe the smashing up helped, but the stub came out easily. I can only suggest whatever combination of the following you can manage:

- heat the outer tube and cool the inner one

- outer tube in a decent vice, tightened sufficiently to stop rotation with pipe wrench on stub (as soon as you can after the above)

- put a tube onto the handle of the pipe wrench for extra leverage

- do this repeatedly in opposite directions

- keep adding WD 40 or similar when cool, leave overnight and try again

- just try for an imagined bit of movement in opposite directions each time

- persist

If the above doesn't work, buy a new tube and two new stubs .

Expect you've done all that. Expect the wrench slipped, too, but file a couple of flats onto it if it did. Before giving up completely, enquire with a local engineer about the idea of cutting the end off and drilling out the remaining inner tube.

Good luck.

When you do manage to get the axle tube out Derek, I found this was the cheapest place for replacement, 600mm will be long enough to replace both axles.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390930202594? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Windsport reply.
Original centre axles had a aluminium insert to provide the correct wall thickness and created corrosion problems.
Windsport identified the problem when taking over production and changed the insert to a plastic one , which eliminates corrosion and allows for simple dis-assembly when required.
All small wheel replacement parts are available on the cat parts website.
Brian
Sprint 15 technical support

All,
thanks for all of your replies and suggestions . I think basically I need to give it some welly . I have the offending part soaking in WD40 at the moment and will give it another try at the week end .
Cheers
Derek