Lat machine guide rod shaft collar removal question...

[Deep-Voiced-One]

I recently bought the 190 lb selectorized weight stack to add to my Powertec lat machine to realize that the stack brings the height up significantly which impedes the guide rods from being installed with them in the short ceiling height room that the lat machine is in.

I was thinking of removing the shaft collars temporarily to feed the stack one by one and then the carriage from the top by putting the guide rods through the rubber bumpers into the bottom portion of the machine first, the only issue I'm running into is that the shaft collars are giving me a problem removing them. I found the right size hex key which Powertec said was a 3mm (I have a 1/8" which seems to fit right), but the bolt in the collars won't budge.

Any insight on how to loosen it?

[weisgarb]

I recently bought the 190 lb selectorized weight stack to add to my Powertec lat machine to realize that the stack brings the height up significantly which impedes the guide rods from being installed with them in the short ceiling height room that the lat machine is in.

I was thinking of removing the shaft collars temporarily to feed the stack one by one and then the carriage from the top by putting the guide rods through the rubber bumpers into the bottom portion of the machine first, the only issue I'm running into is that the shaft collars are giving me a problem removing them. I found the right size hex key which Powertec said was a 3mm (I have a 1/8" which seems to fit right), but the bolt in the collars won't budge.

Any insight on how to loosen it?

Are you referring to the silver collars shown in the far right, at the bottom of the top pulley? I tried to edit the picture to circle what I'm referring to, but it appears you can't upload pictures to the site anymore.


I remember having to crank on the bolts a little, but I was able to loosen both of them. You might want to try some WD-40 and let it sit for a couple minutes.

You can see how tight the unit was in my house. I had to lean the guide rods forward quite a bit to fit on the plates, but the hardest part was then fitting the top back on. There simply wasn't enough room. I had to again lean everything forward while trying to control the now loaded stack just to get it all in place.

[Deep-Voiced-One]

Are you referring to the silver collars shown in the far right, at the bottom of the top pulley? I tried to edit the picture to circle what I'm referring to, but it appears you can't upload pictures to the site anymore.


I remember having to crank on the bolts a little, but I was able to loosen both of them. You might want to try some WD-40 and let it sit for a couple minutes.

You can see how tight the unit was in my house. I had to lean the guide rods forward quite a bit to fit on the plates, but the hardest part was then fitting the top back on. There simply wasn't enough room. I had to again lean everything forward while trying to control the now loaded stack just to get it all in place.

Yep those are the exact collars I'm referring to and wow...I have just a hair more ceiling height in the room than yours so it can definitely be done. Thanks for the advice, now it's just a matter of adding the stack and putting front and top panel back on again.

[Deep-Voiced-One]

Quick update, got the weight stack installed and ready to use...initial impressions are that the stack gives the machine a nice, clean look and is better organized. I keyed different weight increments on the stack and they traveled smooth enough (the carriage still has its usual bit of sway with no plates on the horns, but nothing crazy, nor alarming).

The 3M stickers with the lbs and kgs posted are a nice touch and the selector pin adjusts smooth...I look forward to using the quick adjustments to fit some quick isolation moves in along with pulldowns. I'll post some pics here later as well as in the "Look what I bought today" thread.

[togijog]

Good update, all the best to you.