Explorer upper shaft assembly

[Anonymous]

I sent my Explorer XS off to have it configured into the Explorer II housing and shaft, complete with new coil. My question is, the upper metal shaft is shown in the photos with the mid-shaft cam-lock facing up. But the top end of the upper metal shaft is pointed, or bevelled, on one edge. Will it hurt anything to turn the metal shaft over, so the mid-shaft latch is facing downward? I had to really push hard to get the upper shaft into the housing far enough for stability(with latch on top or bottom, but I chose bottom). I hate not knowing what is back in the housing that I could be pushing against, like the cable or whatever. What is your opinion? Will it work either way? Thanks!!

 

[Frank in NH]

n/t

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you! It does look like that would be more stable than the upward configuration. I also note a tapering down of the last 3 inches or so of the upper shaft. Should ALL of this tapered part be shoved into the housing? Thanks, and this will answer ALL of my curiousity!

 

[Jeff In North Georgia]

On the original Explorer S and XS, the upper shaft was cut off square and the lower shaft lever was up. They later added a dimple to the metal shaft to help it from sliding out.

When they re-designed the machine as the "II" model, they put the lower clamp lever down to keep the dirt out of the mechanism. Also cut the shaft off at 45 degrees. This allows the shaft to slide an extra 1" into the housing. Less flex and less likely to slide out. Also changed the clamp plastic material from a hard black plastic to a softer, red rubber material for both the upper and lower shaft clamps. This grips both shafts better and again, less likely to move or slide out.

Hope this helps.
Jeff

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Jeff. I like the idea of an external cable, so you can see what you are doing with it better. But I guess there are good and bad aspects to both. I just hate forcing a sharp metal shaft into a plastic housing filled with cable and Lord knows what else. Seems to be working OK, though. I now have an ExplorerXS II. Brains are XS, shaft, housing, and coil are II. Thanks again!