Electronic Parts Replacements Info for the MEP-802A

[87Nassaublue]

Hi 87Nassaublu
i would be interested in that website too, but my concern is that if he wont say what chemical are made of, is the cleaner safe for the engine?
That's why I used vinegar and not baking soda, but one could test it on some metals and see what chemical reactions take place and how strong they are.
Even with vinegar I got a lot of scaling removed with abundant brown foam, so at least it was doing something.
Then I would run it until it reached normal temp before waiting to flush again (after cooling), hence a slow tedious process taking up most of a day.

I have the other MEP to finish flushing also and if I can do it in half the time that would help.
When both MEPs are ready I will use the John Deer coolant as recommended here.

He wouldn't share the ingredients with me because he said if I knew, then I could make it myself. It must be a pretty basic available chemical. If memory serves, this guy was some kind of chemical engineer and really knew his stuff. Many years ago I used a Dupont product that was very acidic and it had a neutralizer you had to use to kill the acid after you finished cleaning. I figured out the neutralizer was baking soda. The acid part would burn your skin. Well the EPA outlawed that and I had to find a good replacement and found this guy. The old Dupont product would make all the aluminum and brass parts shiny. The stuff I get from the other guy won't do that but it will cut all sorts of crud out of it. He assured me, I could leave it in for a week or more if I wanted to. I originally found this guy because I had an overheating problem with one of my corvettes. Corvettes don't have great cooling systems. After using this stuff in my vette and cleaning out the system, it ran about 30 degrees cooler. Another good thing about this is you don't have to neutralize it after your done. Just flush out the debris. I should have that information about where to get it later today.

I never thought about using vinegar to clean a cooling system but I guess it would help. I've used it to clean old wrenches and files. That is sure a mess and it will stain your hands.

 

[kb3bf]

MEP radiator flush

By the way I get the vinegar and baking soda in the largest containers I can find at Costco and I have just started using them for my car radiators. Both are a lot cheaper than buying commercial products to flush radiators. So far I am cautious on how much baking soda to use as a neutralizer because what it does to aluminum so I am still trying to experiment on how much baking soda to use with one unit of vinegar mixed with ten units of water, and then by pouring the vinegar solution with baking soda over aluminum sheets and see what happens to the aluminum over a day or so.
The vinegar part seems to work well, but like I said before you need many flushes to clear the system out.

 

[kb3bf]

Has anybody determined the best GCI paint # for the earlier MEP generators (camo)?
For new aluminum sheets (replacement parts), I assume one starts with red primer and then adds green, brown black.

 

[87Nassaublue]

I use baking soda in the large bag to keep the PH level in our pool in the right range. LOL It's much cheaper than what the pool store charges for the same thing in a different bag. I don't think the baking soda will hurt any metal, but the vinegar over time will It's actually an acid. I forgot and left some tools in a vinegar bath for about 3 weeks and when I pulled them out there wasn't much left of them.

I flat out forgot to check the that radiator cleaner on the shelf at the other house. I was tired after doing sheet rock work and just forgot. I'll try again tomorrow. I hope that guy is still in business.

 

[Guyfang]

Has anybody determined the best GCI paint # for the earlier MEP generators (camo)?
For new aluminum sheets (replacement parts), I assume one starts with red primer and then adds green, brown black.

I have never seen any primer on a gen set. CARC on metal. Often, several layers of CARC.

 

[87Nassaublue]

I finally got a chance to look on my shelf and see what the name of that radiator cleaner was. It was called "Core Restore". The guy was in Warren Michigan. I can't seem to find him on the web now. I think he might have gone out of business. I'm a little sad because he had a good product.

 

[87Nassaublue]

I finally got a chance to look on my shelf and see what the name of that radiator cleaner was. It was called "Core Restore". The guy was in Warren Michigan. I can't seem to find him on the web now. I think he might have gone out of business. I'm a little sad because he had a good product.

I finally remembered the name of the company that made this stuff. It's Plating Technologies in Warren, Michigan. I can't believe how hard it was to find his website. He really needs to work with his listings in search engines. Google and even dogpile.com came up with nothing. I just happened to finally remember the company name. He still has Core Restore on his website. Here's the link.

http://platingtechnologies.net/other-products-cleaning-solutions-for-house-valuables-autos/

 

[kb3bf]

I got the can of Zeppreserve and now I am keeping my fingers crossed if it will free up the stuck solenoid. 12hrs so far and counting.
We shall see...........

 

[87Nassaublue]

Oh Boy!, if that doesn't free it up I don't think anything will! After you're done soaking it, don't throw the left over zeprepresure away. Save it. That stuff is like gold! I little dab will save your bacon in a pinch!

 

[kb3bf]

I was planning to save the leftover zep.
lets see what happens in a few days.
I tried WD40, but that did not work as I did not have enough to soak the solenoid in it.
if ZEP works I am getting a case of the stuff.

 

[87Nassaublue]

I I think I prefer the aerosol. I've never had the non-aerosol When it comes out it foams up and seems to suck into all the cracks and crevasses. A little of that stuff goes a long way.

 

[kb3bf]

I I think I prefer the aerosol. I've never had the non-aerosol When it comes out it foams up and seems to suck into all the cracks and crevasses. A little of that stuff goes a long way.

I thought ZEP only came in liquid cans when I looked it up and ordered it.
In this case I believe that a liquid solvent in a soaking jar helped do the job or at least sped it up.

I had been spraying the relay with WD-40 for days and while it was cleaning the metal surface it did not free up the parts. The ZEP solution may be more potent, but the soaking worked. I am grateful it did. For the easy rust cases I will keep using WD40, but for the stubborn ones: the ZEP liquid.
I filtered the solution through paper towels and put the solution back in the bottle. There was some amount of rust debris left over in the solvent.

I remember a chemistry teacher of mine saying that there is an ideal solvent for every type of material, but the problem is figuring out what it is. I think I better understand what he meant.

 

[kb3bf]

Predict the next MEP-802A failure or mean time between failures.

In anticipation of wiring the generator for emergency power, I have been pushing the 802 for the last few days and it has been holding up well (fingers crossed), 2-3 hours a day at ~120% load (6.5KW resistive), while keeping an eye on the MEP vital signs.

A minor leak sprang in the rubber plug by the water pump. It swelled and developed a slit under normal temperature (I assume normal pressure, but I haven't measured that). The plastic clamp snapped also. Both are old and brittle. I'll replace the latter with a metal hose clamp. The rest of the hoses seem fine, clamps are tight. No other leaks so far.

Luckily it wasn't anything more serious, but I have no idea where to get a replacement. Should I even bother to look up the NSN for it? If I search the web, all I'll find are those useless outfits promising one for an absurd price or asking how much are you willing to pay. For now I will use a hose and plug it up with new clamps, then try a plumbing store.

OK, what's likely to go wrong next? I am taking bets.......shall we form a pool? (Predict the next MEP Failure) LOL

 

[flydude92]

In case it’s of any interest I had a relay off an mep-004 unit that looked a lot like yours.
Had to clean it, replace screws, some switches and most of the contacts in the switches
and lots of cleaning/rust removal to get it working. It’s now a backup for my 005.

 

[kb3bf]

OMG Flydude92, I thought mine was a tough clean up job but yours takes the cake!
So what's your favorite rust removal solvent?
How did water get in it?

 

[robertsears1]

That plug (or cap as I would call it) looks like the ones on our John Deere Chinese replacement water pump. They last about two years before they leak. I get mine in the "help" section at Advance.

Robert

 

[flydude92]

It has been more than a year since I rebuilt it but I don’t remember using any solvents.
It looked like moisture got in thru the gasket. There was a small area where it didn’t seal.

I completely took it apart and sandblasted most of it. ALL the switch mounting screws broke
from rust so I replaced them with stainless and they had to be drilled out and re-threaded.

 

[jamawieb]

In anticipation of wiring the generator for emergency power, I have been pushing the 802 for the last few days and it has been holding up well (fingers crossed), 2-3 hours a day at ~120% load (6.5KW resistive), while keeping an eye on the MEP vital signs.

A minor leak sprang in the rubber plug by the water pump. It swelled and developed a slit under normal temperature (I assume normal pressure, but I haven't measured that). The plastic clamp snapped also. Both are old and brittle. I'll replace the latter with a metal hose clamp. The rest of the hoses seem fine, clamps are tight. No other leaks so far.

Luckily it wasn't anything more serious, but I have no idea where to get a replacement. Should I even bother to look up the NSN for it? If I search the web, all I'll find are those useless outfits promising one for an absurd price or asking how much are you willing to pay. For now I will use a hose and plug it up with new clamps, then try a plumbing store.

OK, what's likely to go wrong next? I am taking bets.......shall we form a pool? (Predict the next MEP Failure) LOL

Very common problem, that's just a plastic cap you can find at any auto parts store. They don't last long and just use a hose clamp to hold it on. About $1.5 worth of supplies.

 

[kloppk]

The same cap was cracked and leaking on my 802 when I first got it home. Instead of replacing it with a cheap rubber cap I used a very short piece of heater hose, slid it on, clamped it with a stainless clamp and then plugged it short round piece of metal stock and clamped that it place with another stainless clamp. Two years later and running it a dozen or so times it's working just fine.
Not pretty but it ought to last a lot longer than the rubber cap.

 

[kb3bf]

Impressive restoration. I am glad you mentioned sand blasting, I forgot to consider it and in some cases it can do a better job.
Thats the beauty of this forum, lots of great ideas and the sharing of info.