Vintage Aurora 88 Problems

[Dr.Grace]

I have what seems to be an older version of the vintage Aurora 88, whose piston ring I'm trying to replace (it came with a translucent silicone-like O-ring that seems to be cut from a piece of silicone tubing.) I was able to disassemble the pen with no problems. I bought some O-rings from David Nishimura's site, and they fit over the shaft of the piston. But when I tried to use two of them, they seemed to be too thick, and I couldn't get the end nut to stay on. If I use a single O-ring, I can screw on the nut. However, I can't seem to get the piston rod into the barrel. The O-ring just won't get past the barrel opening. I'm afraid to use too much force. Also, the piston screw extends a little past the end nut, and if I push on that, the barrel will put too much force on the O-ring and end nut.

 

Any help is appreciated!

Edited October 24, 2013 by Dr.Grace

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

In many pens, the screw-part of the piston shaft crumbled away at least slightly. I don't know if this is the case in your pen, but I know user Labeo in Italy can restore the piston shaft ends to their original condition. That's where I send pens with damaged shafts and all sorts of "impossible" and strange repairs

 

Dillon

[Dr.Grace]

Thanks. I don't think the piston shaft has crumbled, it's perhaps just a little shorter than the ones on other 88s. I was hoping to be able to do this myself, but perhaps it would be best to send this out to someone better able to handle it.

[Vintagepens]

The factory seal consists of multiple thin washers, so it would seem that your pen had already had its original piston seal replaced. If there isn't room for two of the O-rings, the piston head definitely has been shortened, probably because the threaded end deteriorated.

 

As noted, this is very common with vintage 88 piston heads.

[Dr.Grace]

OK, thanks. So can you or someone else in the US take care of piston heads like this?

[KarloT]

OK, thanks. So can you or someone else in the US take care of piston heads like this?

 

Try Ron Zorn. I had an old 88 restored. He just sent word that the pen is ready to come home so I should have it in a few weeks.

[Ron Z]

I repaired one with this problem yesterday, so I know exactly what you're talking about. David is right, these originally had stacked washers - something like 5 of them. If the end of the shaft is intact you can do the same, but have to trim them down to the right size after stacking them on the shaft. I used 0-rings on the one that I did yesterday but had to modify the shaft a bit to hold them on because the threads were broken off.

 

Contact me BC please - by email rather than PM if you don't mind.

[Vintagepens]

I assume others do the repair much as I do, by grafting on a new threaded shaft.

It's a bit tricky in that the material is nylon, which isn't very adhesive-friendly, so a mechanical joint is required for sufficient strength.

 

For the USA side of the Atlantic, go with Ron for this. I haven't accepted outside repair work in years.

[Ron Z]

The picture below shows an 88 piston after repair. The end of the piston had cracked and crumbled as describe in the OP. The end piece was machined out of hard rubber, so chemical/ink resistant, with threads to match the original nut that goes on the end to hold the stacked washers in place. The other end is turned smaller and threaded. The end of the piston is machined and faced to remove the damage, then drilled an tapped to match the small end on the replacement part. Shellac applied to the threads to hold it in place, tightened snug, but not over tightened so that the remaining nylon does not crack. Once the replacement washers are stacked and the nut put in place, the end is then cut off flush with the outside edge of the nut.

http://www.mainstreetpens.com/pix/Aurora88_small.jpg