Possible damage to my 3401

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hoyt66

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I did my first boat detail today. Man that was alot of work! Anyway after about 2 hours of laying on it at a speed of 5 with an orange lake country pad an megs 205 its started smoking and appeared to seize up. I put it aside and grabbed my pc. After an hour I tried the flex again and got it to start working again but it took a little persuasion. It appeared to be working fine so I started

using it again. But I noticed small slivers of black plastic occasionally fall out of it yet it continued to work. I'm sure something got trashed inside, maybe the gears. So should I take it apart or is this something you just send in? Thanks[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 
Pull the plate off and see what it looks like inside and what got damaged. Let us know!
 
Thank you. I'm whooped. I'll take it off in the am. Idk how you pros do it. The boat was only 22 ft but it may as well been a yacht!
 
hoyt66 said:
Thank you. I'm whooped. I'll take it off in the am. Idk how you pros do it. The boat was only 22 ft but it may as well been a yacht!
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sounds like it might be the plastic ring that locks it in forced somehow got dislodged partially and got ate up...if thats the case, its an easy fix!
 
Yet another reason why everyone should own and always have a PC on hand. Such a great versitile machine.
 
Man sorry to hear that. My guess the plastic ring is beat up. The Flex can be easily repaired from 1st hand experience. You just need the parts. Unless your Flex is still under warranty; you can send it in for repair.

I think there was no oil around the felt ring which also contributed to the failure (MY GUESS).

But I also have a PC7424 XP as a back up as well as my sealant/wax applicator.

Please let us know what was the outcome and also please show pics of the boat. I have never worked on a boat and just curios of what you did! Take care
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
Man sorry to hear that. My guess the plastic ring is beat up. The Flex can be easily repaired from 1st hand experience. You just need the parts. Unless your Flex is still under warranty; you can send it in for repair.

I think there was no oil around the felt ring which also contributed to the failure (MY GUESS).
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First off, I'm impressed that you rocked a 22' boat with a 3401! I tackled a 19' this weekend but had the PE14 and a wool pad do the heavy lifting below the rub strip- 3401 got used above (typically on speed 5-6).

I'd agree to lube up the felt strip with some air tool oil, motor oil, etc.

Replacing the inner plastic ring literally takes 2 minutes, so hopefully that is culprit!

Best of luck!
 
B5visser said:
First off, I'm impressed that you rocked a 22' boat with a 3401! I tackled a 19' this weekend but had the PE14 and a wool pad do the heavy lifting below the rub strip- 3401 got used above (typically on speed 5-6).

I'd agree to lube up the felt strip with some air tool oil, motor oil, etc.

Replacing the inner plastic ring literally takes 2 minutes, so hopefully that is culprit!

Best of luck!
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Thanks . I only do cars but a friend from church asked me to do his boat. it was a ton of work. Yea man a few hours in in I was thinking "I bet guys use straight rotary on these."
Do ppl use DA on boats or is that just flat out not common? I think next time I will get some wool pads. I was just trying to keep my cost down by not buying any new pads. He lives on the lake and a neighbor came over asking about the price for his boat. Thank fully I answered that I'd have to see his boat first because I think I way under bid this job. I mean I'm only an enthusiast and detail a little on the side pretty much to pay for my detailing addiction and a few mods on my Challenger :-)
 
Sorry I forgot to turn my phone sideways. Anyway here are the pics of the damage. I'm thinking a new felt ring and a new back plate? The gear around the outside looks pretty good or should I just replace that while I'm at it?? Also here is a pic of the boat. I really should of took some 50/50 shots. They were amazing but I'm always just trying to just finish....
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Thanks so much for your help
 
Wow, you beat it up. Backing plate, felt ring and inner gear ring look toasted.

I did my buddys boat a couple of years ago and made him buy a HF DA. We ran it on six and didn't care.
 
Hopefully you didn't damage the motor. I think Mike Phillips just mentioned recently that the Flex machines have a thermal cutoff, so hopefully that protected the motor.
 
I bought a HF cheap rotary for boats and gel coat. Comes with a wool pad that does pretty good for boats as well.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
 
thank you for the replies.. better get this stuff ordered:-(
 
Parts ordered! Can't wait to get my Flex right again!
 
hoyt66 said:
Parts ordered! Can't wait to get my Flex right again!
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Once you take your Flex 3401 apart you will realize how easy it is to repair. Zem Germans made it to where simpletons like me can repair it. If I can repair it you can to!! LOL Please give an update when it's all done and ready to rock again!
 
im sure you checked this..but was the locking nut tight on the backing plate?
 
Toolhead said:
im sure you checked this..but was the locking nut tight on the backing plate?
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Do you mean the screw that holds the backing plate on? That was tight when I unscrewed it to take the plate off. Or is there something else I can check? Thanks for your help
 
Received my replacement parts in the mail today. Pretty quick fix and easy fix. Looking back my error was laying to hard on the polisher and not evenly either. I was bending the backing plate thru the felt ring and into the metal part of the polisher housing causing the damage. Lesson learned 70 bucks!

Good to go!!

flex_repair_2.JPG
 
Glad you got it fixed, man. :)

And, I truly realize I might bring down a hail storm of attacks on me with next line:

For almost $450 bucks, I would want to "Lay on" this unit as hard and long as I wanted to without worrying about a plastic gear, or anything else for that matter failing on me. JMO.
 
PaulMys said:
Glad you got it fixed, man. :)

And, I truly realize I might bring down a hail storm of attacks on me with next line:

For almost $450 bucks, I would want to "Lay on" this unit as hard and long as I wanted to without worrying about a plastic gear, or anything else for that matter failing on me. JMO.
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Well, no attack or anything, but what makes you think that paying a higher price for a tool gives you an excuse to use it incorrectly? If I pay $50 for a Snap-On screwdriver, then I should be able to use it as a pry bar, ice-pick, or hammer? :laughing: I'll never understand this reasoning:dunno:
 
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