Appreciation post: that old freight elevator at the warehouse on 47th

Spent 3 hours Tuesday trying to quiet a rattling on a 1960s Otis freight car. Turned out the guide shoe shims were just loose, not worn. I backed the bolts off, cleaned the crud, and torqued them back to 50 ft-lbs. Smooth as glass now. Anyone else find simple fixes on ancient units that save the headache?

3 comments

3 Comments

umaprice23d ago

Oh man, that's the dream fix right there. I once spent a whole shift chasing a squeak on a 1950s elevator and it turned out to be a dry drip pan that just needed a splash of oil. Funny how the simplest stuff can make you feel like a genius or a total fool.

bailey.sam23d ago

Splash of oil, feel like Einstein until you realize you wasted four hours on it.

pat_hall8723d ago

Man, I feel you there! A good soak in some penetrating oil solves half the world's problems, doesn't it? Next time try hitting it with a bit of brake cleaner first to flush out any grit before you oil it up, makes a world of difference. @umaprice, I've had good luck with a specific brand of light machine oil for those old elevator pans, stops the squeaks for months.