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Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: danilaprepeleac on December 17, 2022, 01:59:07 pm

Title: Thomas compressor piston removal
Post by: danilaprepeleac on December 17, 2022, 01:59:07 pm
hello everyone

I got my major rebuild kit and I have no idea how to remove the piston and counterbalance from the axel.
any ideas??

it was very noisy and when I opened it up the shims  holding the piston to the bearing were gone.
Title: Re: Thomas compressor piston removal
Post by: Michelle on December 17, 2022, 04:20:13 pm
See if Steve's write up on our old blog has relevant info:  HWH Pump Rebuild (https://www.irvblog.com/foretravel%20projects/HWH-Pump-Rebuild/)
Title: Re: Thomas compressor piston removal
Post by: danilaprepeleac on December 17, 2022, 06:02:27 pm
I did and it does not detail anything about the painfull removal of the bearing and counter balance.


i went to the part store and got a pulley puller and i managed to damage the  piston rod

back to square one.. i need to find a piston rod replacement.

After i pulled the old piston and counter balance off( it was hard because of their offset and first i pulled the bearing and the counter balance  and then i had to pull the center piece that goes inside the bearing and that its offset as well an i was only able to pull from the sleeve that is behind it.)

after i reinserted the new piston rod i inserted the counter balance at the same time and moved them towards the end together  and then i realized that the metal shaft pin would not go inn because the counter balance was smashed  and i should have pushed them in one at the time and instaling the rod pin right after the piston was inserted.

I will call on Monday see if they have just the new piston Assy.
Title: Re: Thomas compressor piston removal
Post by: WS6_Keith on December 17, 2022, 07:12:42 pm
I'm not sure what you paid for the rebuild kit, and now add more parts to that, but maybe a replacement pump would be a more economical option?  Not to mention there are much higher CFM pumps available.

Here's what I did:  Aux air pump system replacement (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=44535)
Title: Re: Thomas compressor piston removal
Post by: danilaprepeleac on December 17, 2022, 08:40:27 pm
what did the whole project cost


and yes how many days worth of work?
Title: Re: Thomas compressor piston removal
Post by: WS6_Keith on December 17, 2022, 09:17:48 pm
My project total was more time and cost, but fourdayoff just did the pump swap.  The Air Zenith pump runs $369 on Amazon.  It pulls 35 amps, about 7 more than the Thomas.  The circuit breaker for the Thomas pump is a 40a.  I used the same wiring and left it on that circuit breaker.  No issues.

Amazon.com: Air-Zenith OB2 Fast-Fill Heavy Duty Air Compressor : Automotive (http://www.amazon.com/Air-Zenith-OB2K-Air-Zenith-Black/dp/B002Q5S6OE)
Title: Re: Thomas compressor piston removal
Post by: danilaprepeleac on December 19, 2022, 01:10:24 pm
On a new note .
I called Zoro and explained what happened and they will warranty me a new part. Great customer service from Zoro.
Title: Re: Thomas compressor piston removal
Post by: fourdayoff on December 19, 2022, 07:08:57 pm
As Keith stated I did just replace the Thomas compressor, I was able to modify the original muffler to use also and I'm very happy with it. I was going to go the route you did but just could not justify the cost then still have a 20yr old compressor. Jim.