Freeing Frozen Lower Stemrods:

[NamVetLesTreasureSeeker]

I have had this problem for yrs. with my EXCAL'S, as others have had!! I have learned a few tricks over the yrs.!!
Step #1: Thoroughly rinse off your All WATER DETECTORS in a Mild HOT Water SHOWER after Every Beach or WATER Outting!!
Step#2: Rest your DETECTOR on a Work Bench or Picnic Table, while Pushing In on the Button Snap with One Hand so that the Lower Stemrod can move, when you try to move it!!
Then take a RUBBER MALLET and Gently (I said GENTLY) TAP on the Bottom of the Coil, while Pushing IN on the Button Snap, so that theButton Snap MOVES OUT of the
Locking Hole 1/8th to 1/4" BEYOND the HOLE, so that the Button is NO LONGER Visible!! Then GENTLY grab the INSIDE Bottom of the Coil, so that your FINGERS can Reach Around the Lower Stemrod
CONNECTION, and then GENTLY TWIST the COIL Out of POSITION, thus Freeing the COIL &Lower Rod!!
Step#3: If you cannot free it with that Procedure, because you FEEL you CANNOT Turn the Coil & Rod without possibly BREAKING the Coil Connection!! You have One Other
Option, but it will be difficult with the Lower Rod CONNECTED to the Upper Shaft!! You will need to take it to someone with a DRILL Press, and DrILL a 1/4" HOLE
COMPLETELY THRU the Lower Stemrod, but make sure the DRILLED Hole is approx. 6 or 7 inches ABOVE the Coil Stemrod Connection!! Then SLIDE a 1/4" Rod or
SCREWDRIVER through the DRILLED HOLE, and WRAP your HAND around the 1/4" Rod or Screwdriver, and GENTLY TWIST the Lower STEMROD until it BREAKS
FREE, and that should Do It!! The Drilled Hole METHOD gives you Better LEVERAGE, when Twisting the Lower Stem Rod, so you LESSEN the chance Breaking
Anything!! PS: I went to Home Depot or Lowe's and bought a 12" length of 1/4" ALL-THREAD ROD to perform this method, because it gives you better GRIPPING
POWER for the TWISTING Procedure! Also, I would REPLACE the GARRETT Camlocks with Plugger's SHAFTLOCKS, that you can purchase from
Chuck Marcum at Indian Nations Detector Sales (forum sponsor)!! I have them on ALL my EXCAL Shafts and they are also on my Plugger AT-Pro
Custom Straight Shaft!! They are FANTASTIC!! Hope this helps, Les Robinson

 

[mudpuppy]

Dude, I took everything apart, the upper camlock to the control box came apart easy enough, the lower one was encrusted with sand and I wrapped it with a rag and had to use channellocks..after much twisting and rinsing I got that unscrewed, and then took about 10 minutes to get the other piece of the camlock off the shaft and slid it down. Try as I might, with the rubber mallet, antisieze spray, even the propane torch heating up the aluminum part as the last resort, I could not get them unstuck! I gave up and put everything back together. I think I did set this thing up too long from day one and that's whats hurting my arm. Plus I never rinsed or otherwise took care of it like you stated...I suppose a guy could cut a few inches off the top where it attaches to the control box pipe..Anyway, it kept me occupied for an hour.
Mud

 

[Neil]

What I did was remove the plug right behind the armcuff that seals off the upper rod opening. Then I removed the camlock that tightens to the lower rod. you really do not need the lower camlock, the lower and middle rod have no wobble. after each water hunt I spray the garden hose inside the upper shaft and it shoots out the bottom of the lower rod and middle rod holes. this clears out most of the sand, making it easy to move the rod around and flush the rest out. Ive done this from the start and it works great every time I do it. no chemicals, no wrenches, just dont give the sand a place to build up and it wont.

 

[mudpuppy]

Good one Neil! I think you are on to something there...I'm gonna lose the lower cam lock and see if I can get this thing unstuck today..I like to have the shaft long when hunting in waist deep water, a guy can sort of crouch and really cover some real estate. then to be able to quickly shorten it up and do the dry would be wonderful!
Thanks!
Mud

 

[NamVetLesTreasureSeeker]

Neil, You are RIGHT about Flushing It from the Very Top of tha Shaft, but if you Use HOTTER Water, it will Remove the SALT Deposits and SAND with better success!! Any WATER is BETTER, than No Water!! I even carry a couple of 1/2 gal. Milk Jugs with water in them, for when I'm traveling to a Beach, and have No IMMEDIATE Access to a Quick Shower Rinse!!
Then I try to THOROUGHLY RINSE & WASH OFF my detector before I put it in the Front Compartment of my pick-up!! Then, when I get home, I take for a HOT Shower!!
HH, Les Robinson

 

[mudpuppy]

Today I got this thing fixed! I took everything apart so all I had was the middle and lower rod. hammered down on a solid block of wood and got the shaft to move...then it was really stuck! I found my old CZ 20 lower rod fit inside the top of the middle tube with just a little slack and figured I'd use it like a slide hammer to push the garrett one out, no dice...so I found that a 13/16 open end wrench fits around the lower shaft and allows a guy to rest the tube edges against it, (see photo) Then I slid the CZ 20 shaft inside the top of the tube and with much pounding on the top of it, drove the garrett one out the bottom...both it and the inside of the tube were all galled up as you can imagine.
Heres the important thing..theres two raised surfaces on the garrett rod, one on the end, and one right behind the detent buttons, see? that's where all the fine sand gets trapped and jams it up completely! Take a little file and roll that shaft across your leg and file those off! SAND GETS STUCK IN BETWEEN THE TWO! Then I polished the inside of the tube with some 320 grit wet/dry sand paper using the CZ 20 rod as a tool. Then I pushed some rag through the tube with car polish on it like cleaning the barrel of a gun. cleaned all the galling on the inside of the tube, as well as on the lower shaft, got rid of the lower cam lock, and BOY IS IT SWEET NOW! I can quickly and smoothly adjust the length, and theres no wobble either...
Many thanks to you guys here for all the help...I'd a broke something for sure if it wasn't for your assistance!
Mud

 

[Ytcoinshooter]

All good advice. On my saltwater detectors I've always used the garden hose with as much pressure as possible and carried a couple 1 gal (Arizona ice tea) jugs in case I could do a per wash until I got home to the hose. When this happened to my ATPro in fresh water from the silt & sand I knew the tolerances were too tight. I'm going to check into those areas recommended for filing. I have a total solution coming in the mail that will allow me to use pluggers 3 piece travel shaft with my ATP. I'm okay with the stock shaft on turf but I prefer a straight shaft in the water or on the beach.
HH-Bruce

 

[mudpuppy]

Yeah..all I hunt so far is fresh water..I was amazed how froze up this thing was...very tight tolerances from those two raised areas, you make them go away, and lose the lower cam lock that also gets jammed up from the sand/silt, and it should work fine. I'll try running it short like knightsquad suggested tomorrow to see if it makes a diff on my arm pain on the dry sand.
Mud

 

[wltdwiz]

i took the lower camlock off my at gold & problem solved
shaft is nice & tight & dont lock up