groucho my granpa had one of those when i was a kid. actualy i bet he still has it. i never had any idea it had fluid in it. i'll give him a call tonight and see what he says.
If I remember correctly the only fluid is in the end where the bubble is at and it is sealed kind of like a vial on a carpenters level. Been a long time since I have seen one of those but I remember they seemed to get the job done. The oversize bubble helps to line up with the big circle around the crosshairs.
I just looked at mine, the bubble is about 3/8 inch. Don't see why it wouldn't work with the bigger bubble though. I was told to use ATF in mine when it was new and I always have. I've always filled mine just short of running over.
I used these a lot when i started out in garage work the big bubble will be easier to balance out with the edge close to the large ring.When I raced back in 72-73 the track tire truck used one of these to balance tires for all cl***es with no complaints ,so even though their considered caveman by todays standards they are good and accurate in the right hands
Your bubble looks really big, I have one and its only half that size. I use 30wt oil in mine, you only need to fill it about 1/2 of what it will hold. don't fill it to the top. It just acts as a dampning to steady itself. If you fill it up alot it will spill out when you set the center back in.
Thanks. It looks as if i'd fill it to the red colored part of the stem. Maybe that's why it's 2 colors? What do you think?
Fill it up to the top of the red splines with ATF. That bubble looks bigger than most I've seen and used but should work ok. Oh .....and if you didn't know already, you line the valve stem up with little triangle.
I was told ****** fluid.........and it seems to work great. For the lower part.......bubble? Not sure but I would think that as long as the bubble is in the center things are great. I have used mine a couple of times (aka:HAMB Drags) and I was right on with the "tire man". Chris Nelson Kansas
2nd pic- Oil is used in the reservoir to dampen the oscillations and provide a quicker reading. Any oil will surfice but as suggested ATF would probably be best. 3rd pic- If the bubble vial has a plug on the back, the bubble size can be changed by adding or subtracting the oil in the vial. This is normally a light clear machine oil.
I believe any oil will work but the 90w slows the rocking motion down when a wheel and tire is on it. $.02
the big bubble will work fine, just center it, put the valve stem where the little triangle is.Put a fair amonut in the lower well, its jut to dampen the balancer so when you put the tire on it doesn't bounce back & forth, ATF or 30 w should work fine, its not that technical.But they do work great, also rememeber if you put a 3 oz weight on it to balance it get 2 1 1/5 oz weights & put one on each side of the rim for a better balance. JimV
This is my garage sale find......with the bubble almost centered and the ****** fluid..........and the pic of the whole deal. Chris
The one we used in the shop I worked at in high school had a bubble about the size of yours, worked great....
Wow, i thought mine was huge. Well, i'll fill the reservoir, and leave the bubble alone before i break something
real quick here and i'll post more later... i have two of these...one with a smaller bubble (like you and i both remember) and one with a larger bubble...... i used transmission fluid....saw someone say it on ebay and then i confirmed it here.... both mine were dry when i got them.....i used trans fluid in both....don't over-fill, i just about had it running down the side... i'll read all the posts in a bit.....gotta put the kids to bed
That one's solved, thanks. I'm wodering if there's an easy way to reduce the bubble. But, at this point it's not too important either
ok......i love old tools like this and was wanting to start a thread about it too...... I like my larger bubble one better.....easier to see when it is centered.... grandpa has had one for YEARS......he always told me not to hammer your weights on, while the wheel is on the balancer.....dunno...he just said it wasn't worth taking a chance to damage the head.... the triangle goes towards your valve stem....as has been said... i might try some heavier oil, with 750's it would rock back and forth for a while.....and was real touchy... i took a pc of chalk/soap stone and put a mark where my weights should go, took the tire off and then hammered the weights on...... grandpa said the same thing as said here, that if you put 4oz on one side to balance (static and dynamic??) cut that in half and put one on one side and one on the other......i didn't want to see them and just put them on the back side..... i saw the read area and just thought the plastic was stained....never thought about it being a fill line.....
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