Hi.

I am trying to replace my motor since it is pretty old (date-stamped 1994) and has been shutting off frequently. I took the motor out of the cooler, although it is still attached to the motor pulley (I think that's what it is). Then I tried to use a ratchet and a wrench (per advice from Homedepot) to get the pulley off, but it kept slipping since the bolt (?) has a mostly rounded head. Advice from Lowe's led me to buy a pulley puller ($20!) and get the motor pulley off that way.

Is that right? This 3-armed contraption seems very difficult to get on. I feel like I need a third hand and it seems like I will probably need to use a wrench to turn the center "post," which will probably scratch it all up. Does the pulley really just slide off once this puller is tightened enough? Is there a better way? I kind of hate to buy this tool if I probably won't use it again.

I also wonder if it wouldn't be easier (and cheaper?) to buy a new motor pulley and just attach that to the new motor?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am really starting to despise swamp coolers. Mine has been a fair amount of trouble this year for various reasons. Thanks, again, for any help.

 

Ok, I went ahead and used the pulley puller to remove the motor pulley. It was pretty difficult, but I finally got it. My question now is...should I spray the inside of the motor pulley where the motor's "post" fits in? It's a little dirty looking inside the motor pulley shaft, but I don't want to cause a problem where the pulley is too lubricated and slips or something.

Thanks to anyone who has advice.

 

More progress - and more questions. The motor pulley is on. I didn't lube it, but it can very easily fall off. That worries me. What's to stop it from vibrating off when in operation?

Anyhow, I am trying to mount this thing to the squirrel cage shell and am realizing that one of the 2 usable right side bolt holes on the cage is useless. It seems to have a broken bolt rusted inside it and I can't pound it out. Previously, the mount was only using one bolt on the right side and I guess that was OK. It might have been stuck to the cage because of rust and acted somewhat as a bolt.

But now I want to adjust the tension by moving the mount a little bit. The problem now is the right side is so heavy from the motor that it seems to tilt more and it looks to me like the motor pulley is not lined up with the main pulley. I think that will mess up the balance, right?

Sooo... Should I try to drill out the broken bolt? Is there some other way to use the other sets of holes to mount the motor frame? Right now those holes don't have anything inside them to screw into. Should I try to glue the frame to the cage where the broken bolt is? Should I not bother with the belt tension and let it give at around 1 1/2 to 2 inches (one way)? Thanks.

 

I'll try to answer some for you. Does the pulley have a setscrew in the hub or in the bottom of belt groove. If tight this will help hold it on the shaft.
The twisted off bolt for motor brk't. is most likely spot welded. Either drill out the old bolt(s) or drill new holes moved slightly an equal amount.
HTH,
Mike