Toadtorrent Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 Hi folks, I bought this as a project: SilverG's 6263 Daytona It has a Venus 175 / Lemania / Seagull ST19 movement in it and I was able to do a couple repairs to the thing, as well as the 6-o-clock subdial freezing mod and everything is working fine. HOWEVER, there seems to be a problem on the crown itself that it is not consistently "grabbing" the stem when you turn it. The threaded portion of the crown seems securely fastened on the stem itself, the compression spring part seems to work as well, but the crown spins as noted in the pic below: The pic is actually from a DG4813, but the crown looks similar (a rep Rollie Trip-lock). The spinning means it's difficult to insert the stem and difficult to wind. If I kind of "pull down" on the crown as a turn it, it grabs and I can get purchase, but I know something is wrong. Can this be repaired? If so, how? Or, does this require a new crown? Do you know if I can use a crown from a standard sub rep (I have a spare)? Any help is greatly appreciated!!
Nanuq Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 Freddy will chime in here shortly, but I bet the crown is trashed inside. It's a common problem with Doxa, there's a little "clutch" in there that gives up. Chicken_Manny had the same problem with his. The easiest solution would be a new crown threaded onto that stem, as long as the crown screws down onto your tube. I doubt it will be waterproof, but I never swam with my Daytona anyway. My Daytona had an "unfortunate incident" with a tile floor and the crown was trashed, so I took it off the stem, put another rep Triplock on there, and bingo zingo, all was well.
ubiquitous Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 I've probably got a crown you can have. Lots of rep left overs since I usually swap the Triplocks out with gen... Hit me up via PM. I'll check tonight.
Toadtorrent Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Posted October 20, 2009 I was afraid the crown was botched. What's the best way to remove the trashed crown and preserve the stem? I know the allum route will dissolve the stem, and I currently don't have a spare stem. Would I just head the unit, and use pliers on the stem and the crown and try to unscrew it or is there another secret? Thanks for the advice and possibility of help all!!! Especially Ubi!!
kbh Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 I've found heating the stem up with a lighter will loosen any glue/epoxy that was used to hold it.
Toadtorrent Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Posted October 20, 2009 I've successfully used 18,000 BTU of raw Professional Gas Range cooking power for heat. Good for smoking/charring eggplant and peppers too!!
kbh Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 I've successfully used 18,000 BTU of raw Professional Gas Range cooking power for heat. Good for smoking/charring eggplant and peppers too!! Bet ya turned that nice hardened steel stem into a nice soft alloy.
Toadtorrent Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Posted October 20, 2009 Surprisingly not...and the gaskets didn't melt either!! I tried a lighter and took forever with no result...so I moved to the Big Volcano.
Nanuq Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 I tried a lighter and took forever with no result...so I moved to the Big Volcano. Ummmm, more heat is not always the answer...
Toadtorrent Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Posted October 20, 2009 Hah hah...yours is a special case though Bob. you were just going for that "rainbow titanium" look right?
chiman12 Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 TT...have you tried pulling hard on the crown, while turning it to loosen at same time? Sometimes there is just enough friction to get the crown loose from the stem. I've done this will success on a few crowns that were stripped on the inside.
Toadtorrent Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Posted October 20, 2009 I haven't tried crown removal yet...thought I would see about suggestions first. Now it looks like removal will be the trick. I'll hold off on the attempt when I get a suitable part to transfer to first!! I did find that if I pull on the crown it does allow me to turn things, so I think I will have a fighting chance on removal. Pulling obviously, doesn't help when trying to wind, or put the stem in.
Toadtorrent Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Posted October 21, 2009 As an update, I was able to remove the crown off the stem with no problem, using a little heat. I attempted to install a trip-lock crown from a GMT Master II case I had and it appears the crown is too big to fit the tube on the 6263 case, so it still appears I need a replacement crown. Here's hoping somebody can help!!
Bike Mike Posted October 21, 2009 Report Posted October 21, 2009 This exact same thing (Crown knurling stripped) happened to my friends DJ recently. I just fixed it for him a week ago. Get your self a pin vise (Bergeon #1841), this would have saved you trouble with removing the stem from the crown. It will also help you install the stem securely to the new crown without risk of damaging the crown. I bought a Gen 6mm crown and tube from Ebay for $50. I had to drill & re-tap the case for the gen crown tube using a Rolex tap. Crown fitted perfectly to the stem. Secure using diamond powder or loctite if not available. I am now kicking my a$$ knowing the entire time I was doing this that I should have taken pictures and made a tutorial for this forum.
kbh Posted October 21, 2009 Report Posted October 21, 2009 As an update, I was able to remove the crown off the stem with no problem, using a little heat. I attempted to install a trip-lock crown from a GMT Master II case I had and it appears the crown is too big to fit the tube on the 6263 case, so it still appears I need a replacement crown. Here's hoping somebody can help!! If all else fails BK has very nice Sub crown and tubes available. Equivalent to Rolex 24-703-0. Very close replacement. It really almost takes a micrometer to see the difference.
Toadtorrent Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Posted October 21, 2009 If all else fails BK has very nice Sub crown and tubes available. Equivalent to Rolex 24-703-0. Very close replacement. It really almost takes a micrometer to see the difference. I was hoping to replace like for like so I didn't have to replace the tube. The Sub crown (that came on my weird Sub rep in the GMT case) didn't fit. Ubi thinks he has something he can throw my way which will be very convenient. Here's hoping. I love the help in this community. :good:
ubiquitous Posted October 22, 2009 Report Posted October 22, 2009 Should hopefully have something that will work. I've got an assortment of rep crowns coming your way...
Toadtorrent Posted October 22, 2009 Author Report Posted October 22, 2009 That's so awesome. Thanks so much Ubi!! I love this place!!
P4GTR Posted October 22, 2009 Report Posted October 22, 2009 I feel ur pain, there's so many size variations it's hard to fix unless someone sends a bunch of sizes. Hopefully ubi has the right one. How does the spring loaded coupler connect to the crown? I have a gen sub crown but it's missing the spring tube piece so I've never been able to use it.
Toadtorrent Posted October 22, 2009 Author Report Posted October 22, 2009 I don't know about any coupler thing. The crown threads on the stem like any other...but there is a spring section above the threaded tube for the stem (labelled "SPINS" in the pic above that kind of acts like a car shock around the part labelled "secure"). I think this is to allow for some variance to catch the threaded tube for screwing the crown in.
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