Complete disassemble of Dillon 550

[Bulls Head Bill SASS#33692]

Greetings,

 

I've been using a Dillon 550 for about 11 years.

 

It's loaded a BUNCH of ammo for me over that time.

 

The links and pivots got sticky recently and didn't respond to oil drops on the holes of the pivots like they used to.

 

Who has COMPLETELY disassembled their Dillon 550?

 

I'm going to clean every part.....and moly grease the pivots.

 

There are 2 washers on the lower from pivot pin.....do they wear out?......need to be replaced?

 

Any other suggestions?

 

Thanks

[Courth Pollard SASS # 22719]

Just send it to dillion they will fix it up like new, at no cost to you.

[Cliff Hanger #3720LR]

If you decide to disassemble it yourself, there is a set screw in the bottom of the castings in the pivot blocks. The pivot pin will not come out if you do not remove the locking Allen.

 

Ya, I learned the hard way.

[Dances With Coyotes]

You could try it but if you think she's ready for a overhaul contact a guy named Gary Kieft at Dillon. He is THE MAN to deal with.

[Hollifer A. Dollar]

Mine did the same thing, it got so "tight" I had to lean on the handle with way too much effort. Found out it was caused by brass shavings getting into the pivot points. I took mine down to pieces, cleaned out all the joints, then reassembled it. Its not that complicated. My press is over 20 years old, so it doesn't have the set screws mentioned in another reply. I went slowly, didn't force anything, cleaned out all the bores, used a little white lithium grease on them when I reassembled the knuckle joints & it worked out great. The mechanism moved really smoothly with really light pressure on the handle, then would drop back from the weight of the ram alone. BIG difference.

 

Before you disassemble it, try using something like Gun Scrubber on the pivots. Hose out each joint using the little tube, that flushes out all the brass bits, dirt, primer residue, etc. A word of caution though...don't be surprised if the excess fluid that comes off the press is blue - it will remove some of the paint. After you get the pivots cleaned, come back with lube in each joint (I think Dillon recommends gun oil, I used white lithium grease from a spray can with a little spray tube) then work the lube in by raising & lowering the press. That may solve the problem.

 

If you do decide to disassemble it, one thing that is really critical during reassembly is to be sure to line up the toolhead plate when you put it back on the ram. I didn't & had problems priming cases - I had to move the case around to get a primer to seat into the pocket. A friend suggested checking that alignment using the guide rod that fits in the powder measure die (I had one in a upgrade kit Dillon had sent me). Put the powder measure die in the first (sizing) position, drop the alignment tool in then use it on the primer opening. When you get it lined up, tighten the 4 screws that hold the tool plate on the ram. After I did that, priming was a breeze again.

[Church Key, SASS # 33713]

Contact Dillon and they will send you the link pin removal tool (a really large nail that has been cut down a bit, and the alignment tool which is a 550 on one end and a 650 on the other plus instructions on how to do everything. I had a link arm freeze up and they sent me the above stuff, new link arms, pins, washers, etc. Was a nice and easy afternoon repair job. You lube the arms with wheel bearing grease, not oil. It's not something that can be easily screwed up; quite simple. I'd get the disassembly tools, take it apart and see if you need new link arms (scored inside). If so, call Dillon and get the parts (a freebe).

[Awful Close]

Before you take the press off the bench, you will want to remove the shell plate holder gadget that sits on top of the ram.

It is held on by 2 allen headed cap screws. My 550 was OLD,OLD, and OLD. I got a socket that acts as an allen wrench to loosen the cap screws and it came right off.

Before you do all that work, throw away your allen wrenches and get a T handled Hex key set. Harbor Freight has a set of 10 with a stand that normally sells for 6.99 but they run them on sale often for 4.99.

When I had the whole thing apart, I sprayed it down with non chlorinated brake parts cleaner, I use white lithium lube on the links and Mobil One 10W30 on the main ram. Dillon will send you the alignment tool, the cut off nail, and alignment instructions free. It's a pretty simple job to do.

[JD Trampas, SASS # 55781]

I bought a needle nose grease tip, put it on grease gun, held it on hole and girl friend pump the grease gun until we seen grease coming out, did it to all the holes, before that I used a needle oiler, the grease needle adapter works great.

 

Just a thought, they don't cost much, worth a try anyway, it helped mine out, but mine is only 5 years old

 

 

All for now JD Trampas

[Deacon Will]

A 1050.... a 650 and a SQ Deal..... Send it to Dillon and they will more than make you happy. Heck I broke themain ram on a 1050 into 3 pieces....

[Pitmaster, SASS #78461]

The Dillon refurbish runs roughly $50 plus you ship. Takes less than two weeks. The best reason to do this is they will be able to replace parts that are worn out or are close to wearing out. There are parts that might be slightly out of kilter that they will notice need replaced and you won't. If you do it you have to wait for them to ship the parts. I have done this with 3 used presses I bought. All three came back just like new.