Broken Xl650

[IAN27]

About 2 months ago I purchased an XL650 set up for 40 S&W. I have only reloaded approximately 600 rounds on it. Today I decided to reload some ammo and on lowering the lever the first time I felt a crunch and a piece of black plastic dropped on to my bench. I discovered that the Ring Indexer on the ram had broken in two. I can't understand how this happened. I did not have to use any great force to lower the lever. The press is still operating but due to the indexer having broken I now have a non progressive XL650. As you can imagine, I am not a happy camper!!!! I live in N. Ireland and the dealer I bought the press off does not stock any parts. I sent an email to Dillon today asking re the availability of this part.

I am wondering if this is a common fault with this press, has anybody else had the same problem? Is there something I can do to avoid this happening again? Thanks in advance.

Regards

Ian

[XRe]

Not common - but things do break occasionally, even on the most well made mechanical devices... Dillon has a superb reputation on this forum - they even have a resident customer service guy on the forum (forum handle = "dillon" - imagine that ). I'm certain they'll get you fixed right up - and at no charge to you, too, I'm sure....

Edited March 29, 2006 by XRe

[Merlin Orr]

Ian

After you give them (Dillon) a call make another post about your impression of how they handle your problem. I'll bet your post will include several of the following..

They WILL fix you up!

[Larry White]

Ian, purchase a spare parts kit for your Dillon, these kits have almost every part you could ever need. When something breaks you can fix it right then with no down time. Just remember to contact Dillon for a replacement part for your kit. I have used my kit a number of times and have never been charged for a replacement part.--------Larry

[straightshooter1]

Exactly right on the spare parts kit. That is the secret to no down time. Something breaks (and any man-made part can/will break and always at a very inconvenient time), you grab

the spare parts stash, replace whatever broke, and, at your leisure you contact Dillon and they restock your part for no cost.

Bob

[Gregg K]

When you tighten down the shell plate, be sure to leave it to where it turns freely and remember to tighten down the set screw that keeps the shell plate bolt from turning. If you don't lock down the shell plate bolt, it will get tighter as you load from the shell plate turning to the right and after a little while the shell plate will be too hard to turn and blow the indexer ring. Maybe this is how your ring broke. Not to worry, Dillon will replace it.

[Skywalker]

I'll second Gregg's suggestion.

Concerning the spare parts, there's only a minor problem on this: Dillon (unfortunately) doesn't sell abroad directly. You'll have to always resource to your local distributor, and if he doesn't carry ANY spare parts, then you're ...

[dillon]

We ship to almost anywhere in the world, no problem sending equipment and parts to Northern Ireland. The only items we can't ship outside the U.S. are reloading components, major gun parts, and revolver speedloaders( ).

We got your e-mail, should mail a replacment ring in a day or so, as soon as you e-mail your address to us. The most common causes for breaking ring indexers are if the shellplate bolt tightens when cycling the handle or if the primer seating punch sticks up, blocking the shellplate from rotating. When you replace the ring indexer, be sure to liberally grease the interior of the ring, and use a bent paperclip or a string to reattach the indexer return spring.

[Keith]

We ship to almost anywhere in the world, no problem sending equipment and parts to Northern Ireland. The only items we can't ship outside the U.S. are reloading components, major gun parts, and revolver speedloaders( ).

We got your e-mail, should mail a replacment ring in a day or so, as soon as you e-mail your address to us. The most common causes for breaking ring indexers are if the shellplate bolt tightens when cycling the handle or if the primer seating punch sticks up, blocking the shellplate from rotating. When you replace the ring indexer, be sure to liberally grease the interior of the ring, and use a bent paperclip or a string to reattach the indexer return spring.

Why can't you send speedloaders outside the US?

My spare parts set has saved my butt on a couple of occasions.

[The Brit.]

I bought a second hand Dillon RL550 last year.(an original 550 - not the B model) the threads on the primer housing stripped yesterday. Emailed Dillon and a new one is on the way already. I didn't even have to pay for the shipping.

First rate product from a first rate Company.

We need a Dillon dealer here in the UK !

Edited March 29, 2006 by The Brit.

[10mmdave]

I just need to add, I broke the spring stud on my indexer ring swaping out the primer

punch, can't remember how I did it but I did.

As the other's say, get the spare part's kit.

Just remembered how I did it, turned the wrench too far and too hard to remove the punch,

I now hand tighten and use the wrench just a little bit.

[dillon]

Actually, speed loaders are specifically listed on the UN's ITAR restricted list. Magazines, on the other hand, are not restricted. Go figure.....

[IAN27]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replys and information. I thought you might like an update. I received an email today from Steve Chavez at Dillon. He said that the indexer was designed to break if there is any stress on the machine that could cause more serious damage. He said that a likely cause could be that the set screw was loose. I checked and sure enough it was loose. He said that if I sent him my address he would send me a new indexer. This is customer service at its best!!!!! I am delighted and would highly recommend Dillon to anyone!!!!

[Skywalker]

We ship to almost anywhere in the world

That's great news!

Sorry for posting incorrect info.