Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion New Parts discovery for me!

Some of you may already be aware of this but its the first time I've found it and wanted to share the info with you! I was always disappointed with Wayne Pump Co. for making those little round, screw on covers for the cast iron electrical junction boxes, because they are almost impossible to remove and I usually end up breaking them!
Well, I'm in the process of stripping my Wayne 40 for a complete restoration and today I took the electric light manifold out and took it apart. When I came to the junction boxes, I heated everything up and then cooled the lid with water and "Lo and Behold", it screwed right off! Something was fishy tho and when I looked close, I discovered it was made of brass and painted grey!!!!
There was one on the manifold junction box and another down lower on another junction box! I've never seen one of these lids made of brass and for the life of me, I can't imagine why they switched and went to aluminum???? It sure was a nice treat to find them on this pump and they will shine like new when I'm done with them! Has anyone else ever found any of these?

Both of my Wayne 40s have brass covers. They came off easy and did not have to heat them.

aluminum is alot cheaper than brass.
I have always used heat on rusted and seized metal threads from working on old vintage cars, pumps, etc.....
next time don't throw water on them to cool but walk away for a while and let it cool down on it's own....water could temper the metal (iron)which can make it brittle which can make it snap or crack. Too much heat on aluminum or brass and you will cut or melt it.
On junction covers I have always first tap with a hammer on the junction HOUSING...sometimes just enough vibration will do the trick. If a regular hammer won't work, a small impact hammer will most of the times do the trick. heat is a last resort and only after I have removed the pump unit.

When heating the junction boxes always beware of the fumes or smoke from the paste they used to hold in the electric wires. That stuff is nasty!

This isn't my first interaction with these junction boxes and I've always used all the tricks you describe but I still wonder why they used aluminum later on?? This is the first pump I've ever found with brass covers?? Maybe there was never any cause to have to remove the covers and material wasn't important except as a cost savings???
I don't know, I just thought it ironic that they would change when they had something that worked?? Maybe they weren't aware of the interaction between steel and aluminum???

I'm sure they knew as Alum. had been widely used since 1890, many years before the 40 was made. As with most pumps, they were constructed to be in operation of 5-10 years.

The first computer Variators, in the # 40 pumps have encased ball bearings in the range arms,
later to be replaced by bushings.
There were a lot of brass gears used in the early variators that was later changed to aluminum.
A lot of the smaller 8" computers weigh more than the later 12" computers.
By the time the crankback was being phased out it had very little brass or steel.