Minelab GPX series shaft Twist Lock assembly-removal and installation?

[joshAU]

Hi all.
Long time no post.
I hope the hunts have been prosperous for you all!

Does anyone have any idea of how to remove and install one of the Minelab GPX series shaft twist locks?
The part you rotate to tighten the lower shaft to the upper shaft.

The part number is 8008-0002, or alternatively 124947, and is available from MinersDen, Dick Smith, and some other online sellers for $14.20 AUD plus postage.
An older post on this forum also mentioned Nenad from PhaseTechnical and Coiltek in Maryborough, Vic, also sells them.

I cannot work out how to remove the old one, or install the new one?
I assumed it would be straight forward, but apparently, to me so far at least, its not.
The bottom ring will need to be glued to the main part once its actually on the shaft, but installing the small rounded bit, and getting the main part over that piece, has me stumped.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[Deepseeker]

Get rid of the thing Josh is my honest answer. I replaced it on my 5000 shaft after it stripped, as it was never made to survive big coils. Here is a recap of a post of mine from a couple of years ago, when I had a gutfull of the Minelab Shaft and Shaft lock BS.

First I broke a shaft lock and had to replace it with one I bought from Nenad. Then I broke that one so bought myself a whole new Minelab upper shaft and a Coiltek Carbon Fiber lower shaft. Not long after, the lower shaft split completely in a straight line from one end to the other which caused the 25" DDX coil to flop around on the end and drive me nuts.

So........ I bought another Minelab lower shaft to replace it, only to then have the shaft lock on the upper go again.

So, then I locked the shaft lock as best I could, and filled the bloody thing up with Supa-Glue, AND drilled an 8mm hole right through the guts of the shaft just above it, where the lower shaft passes inside the upper shaft, tapped an 8mm thread in the hole and inserted an M8 stainless steel screw through the whole bloody lot with a stainless steel Nyloc nut locking the whole thing together!!!! Sure, no longer height adjustable, but it was set to my height and was perfect for 5' 6" me.

I then enjoyed some months of trouble-free detecting with my whopping great coil

Then, the eye insert of the bottom shaft (the stem that is glued into the bottom end of the lower shaft and has an eye that pushes in between the coil lugs for the coil to pivot on) fell out of the end of the lower shaft.

But now I'm a very happy man, as I replaced the complete upper and lower shafts with a Sandy shaft that I think it was Mbasko recommended. Chalk and Cheese, and I have never looked back ower: erfect:

 

[joshAU]

Thanks for the reply Deepseeker, and your advice.

It sounds like you've had quite a battle with the original shafts in order to use them with large coils...
Glad you've got it sorted in the end.

I've already purchased some of these to replace them on a few detectors I am planning on selling soon.

I don't really want to outlay more money on buying complete shafts, but I thought I'd replace the twist locks, the teardrop washers and handgrips, as they were all a bit worn.

I've been able to get one apart, but I destroyed the little plastic thingy inside it in the process - although it was already pretty worn out.

I'll give it another attempt, and in the meantime hopefully someone else may know the trick to remove and reinstall them.

Thanks again.

 

[Dignit]

How about giving Miners Den a call, or drop Nenad a PM. They may be able to help.

 

[joshAU]

Thanks Dignit for your advice.
Sorry, I thought I had already replied to you a few days ago.

Yes, I contacted both Miner's Den and Minelab.
Miner's Den were very fast in replying, and gave a written description of how to do it, which I managed to do.
This morning Minelab got back to me with a diagram as well which helped as well.

I must have damaged the first shaft removing the centre lug thingy from inside the shaft by using a flat bladed screwdriver - it seems I have slightly warped the hole the lug thing sits in.
After getting the old one out, I couldn't get the new one to fit in neatly.
DO NOT USE A SCREWDRIVER TO REMOVE THE LUG FROM THE INSIDE!

While I can probably easily correct the warp, its better to avoid doing that altogether.

However, after getting the advice from Miner's Den and Minelab, I removed another one from another shaft, and the new one sits right in neatly.
A drop or two of locktight or some sort of glue - perhaps superglue, sparingly, must be used to keep the lower ring attached to the top of the part.

From Minelab's email:

"To replace the twist lock assembly on the GPX shaft please follow the below.

1. Remove the outer plastic on the twist lock assembly

Replace the disk in the orientation shown below and then re-assemble the twist lock plastics.

It is a good idea to apply a drop or 2 of loctite around the outer plastics once re-assembled to ensure they do not come apart in the field."

(I personally cannot see how you could not use some sort of glue, otherwise the thing will fall apart immediately.
I also used a stanley knife to start to open the seam, then used a flat bladed screwdriver to get between the two rings, and used that to work around the ring to loosen the old glue, to avoid using a hammer).

Hope this information helps someone else.