1930 DC heat control valve parts

I am attempting to remove (salvage) the lever from a heat control valve (which may also be re-used). I have tried hard without success to drive the pin out with lots of penetrating fluid. So I am attempting to drill it out.

It looks like the pin is riveted in. One end seems to be fairly evenly riveted, the other appears to have flowed off to one side in a depression in the lever.

I have a 7/64" hole right through, but am not keen to go to 1/8" yet.

My question is, what diameter is that pin?

Photos attached.

Thanks. Graham

It looks like it is about 9/64" diameter. I used the pin file to enlarge the hole, then put the 1/8 drill through. The rusty hole was exposed in a couple of places. With a good hand twist the pin collapsed and I could then push it out with a punch. The problem now is that the shaft has been mushroomed so the tiny end will need careful filing to remove the expansion.

Very nice photos Graham! The second shot was making me wonder if the valve's shaft going through the lever is threaded or just mushroomed over on the end? Look carefully at the end of that shaft just coming out of the lever. Is that a thread or the edge of the mushroom? (I have no specific knowledge of these parts though. Too old for me!)

If mushroomed you will have to grind off the end of the shaft right down to the lever casting for it to clear the diameter of the hole in the lever. If it is a thread it, of course, will have to be unscrewed. But either way you will still have to release the grip of the rust. Looking at the materials of these items from your photos makes me think that it will be OK to heat the lever arm almost to cherry red to get it to release the rust's grip on the shaft inside the lever arm. I think if you start with the heat you will be able to tell if the shaft is threaded or just mushroomed on the end a bit. Once the lever is moving on the shaft you will be able to tell.

Good luck.

Its not threaded but instead corrosion is too blame.

Thanks 1936 D2. Mobile phones are not easy to get a decent photo out of, even with claimed 13 megapixies.

The shaft is not threaded as you say, Jason. I used pin files to remove the shoulder, carefully. Photos attached.

I am thinking of trying electrolytic rust removal on the lever next.

I note that the designers didn't worry about long term corrosion. Copper (and hence brass) is further down the galvanic series than steel so the brass bolt will accelerate corrosion of the steel. The cast steel is just above nuts and washers on the galvanic series, so it has corroded more than the nuts and washers. On this note, be careful putting stainless steel fastenings on mild (ordinary) steel in your car - the steel will rust faster than if the fasteners were mild steel, if exposed to oxygen.

Hey hey! Looks like you got it off! Excellent! (Photos are all about the close-up mode [or "tulip" mode] to get the shots that really help out here on the Forum).

And good advise on stainless vs steel!

Cant beat the little blast cabinets offered thru Harbor Freight, couple hundred bucks and ideal for anything smaller than a cylinder head, makes quick work of these jobs.

Who are Harbor Freight? Not in NZ. It is also my understanding that sand blasting in the workshop is a good way to get sand into everything - the filters on those cabinets are rarely fully dust-tight.

Anyway, I have done the job electrolytically. I'll post pictures soon. It came up very well.