Dillon 750xl shell plate bolt won't tighten down

[brassgoblin34]

I've been having issues with my 750xl. The foremost problem now is that I can't get the shell plate bolt to tighten down past 1/4 a turn at all. It binds so tightly I'm afraid if I try to apply any more pressure to it I'll damage something.

 

So I did the dumb thing and tried taking the press a part. I'm positive I lost some necessary small piece on my carpet now but I'll come back to that issue later. I have a boroscope I put down it and I can't see anything that it would bind to and the threads do not appear to be damaged. I thought it maybe just needed more lube so I tried some auto grease I had laying around and that also didn't fix the problem.

 

What options do I have here aside from ordering a whole new lower half of my 750?

[DukeSoprano]

I assume the locking set screw is backed out?

[brassgoblin34]

Yesm sorry i missed that detail. I removed it entirely,

[weldon20]

When I received my 650 about 8 years ago I had a similar issue.  I found that the threads were buggered up a bit and also need to go a bit deeper.  I ran a tap down the threaded hole and solved the problem  Lube the tap well and make sure to clean out any debris left in the hole from chasing the threads.  Don't ask me the thread size as I no longer own the press so I can't check the bolt diameter.  Just measure the outside diameter of the threaded portion of the bolt.

[Stuey]

I have you tried cleaning it first before lubing it?  I have the same issue and that solved my problem.  

[4n2t0]

Is there something down there? Something in the threads? Something under the shellplate? Something under the bolt head? Anything that would keep the bolt from grabbing threads on continuing to be threaded? Did this problem always exist? When did the problem start? After a spill or some other kind of incident/malfunction?

 

I'd ask and answer all those for myself before I go rethreading anything.

 

P.S. Your instinct to not force anything is a good one. Things should just work or there's usually something wrong. Nothing good comes from excessive force (at least in this situation, lol).

Edited August 11, 2023 by 4n2t0