Treadmill Service and Repair.

Hydro Track specific parts identification.

Plate – Bearing Bolt (stainless steel)
Small, single piece for most 1101’s.
Large, two piece units for all 1102’s.

Plate – Seal Holder (white-polypropelene)
Sizes same as above. Holds two “Clipper” seals.

Shaft Seals (Clipper type) 2 per side.
Small for 1” shaft, large for 1 3/16” shaft.

Treadmill Drive Shaft (with head pulley)
   Small (1”) shaft for most 1101’s up to SN Pxxxxx.58.
   Large (13/16”) shaft for all 1102’s and 1101’s above
   SN Pxxxxx.59.

Overview of Assembly – Shaft seal and bearing.

Typical 1102 assembly with treadmill hold down brackets, shown less wall for clarity.

Both plates (seal holder and bearing bolt) have silicone to seal to the wall of the tank that will be squeezed between them. The image on the left shows the seal plate being pushed onto the bolts. The right image (represented from the outside of the tank) is the bearing being pushed onto the bolts after the seal plate has been fully installed.

Prep machine for shaft service.

Drain the tank completely and be sure to "wet vac" the plumbing. As you may need to remove sections of plumbing to access the bearing/seal on the window side of the machine.
Before stepping into the foyer, place towels or rags on the floor of the foyer to prevent scratching. Do the same with the main tank and treadmill as needed.
It can be helpful when servicing seals to place a brace between the two internal steel plates-bearing bolt. A typical brace would be made of wood or plastic approximately 21.75" long.
From the foyer, raise the treadmill to the standing position. Do this by first removing the locking pins then sliding back the retaining pins then simply grab the end cover plate and lift slowly. See Lifting Treadmill.
Make sure that the treadmill will remain upright. See that the end (now bottom) of the skid plate is setting on the floor, in front of the lock down tabs in the bottom/far end of tank.
Once you are sure the skid plate is on the floor, push the bottom of the skid plate toward the lock down tabs until it touches. This will loosen the belt and position it properly for shaft service.
Remove the side panels at this time for whichever side you will be working on. NOTE: These panels should always be in place while the tank is full. They may be removed when the water level is below the bottom of the window.
On the window side you will see two pieces of plumbing in your way. Remove as necessary at the provided unions. Be sure not to loose the o-rings.
The non-window side has the gearbelt drive pulley. This must be removed to access the bearing and seals. Removing the pulley from the flange, using the retaining bolts in the threaded holes of the flange, will loosen the drive belt at the same time.
With the pulley now loose on the shaft remove the belt from the pulley and from around the shaft. Leave it stowed out of the way back with the motor. Now remove the tapered flange adapter, with a puller if necessary. Careful not to mar the shaft or the bearing will not come off!

Shaft service.

Loosen the lock screws in the bearing collar that are used to keep the shaft centered. If only servicing one side then the opposite side will keep the shaft centered.
Remove the 4 nuts from the bearing. Then on the drive motor side move the #8 copper bonding wire off the bolt and out of the way.
Removing the bearing and seal assembly. Using screwdrivers or small pry bars, begin prying, gently, behind the seal holder plate. Be sure to stay at the edges of the seal plate so scratching will not effect later sealing. Once the two pieces begin to move off the wall then they can be separated for bearing removal. Once the bearing is off, pull the seal holder plate to the end of the bolts and stop. Find something to brace the shaft at its current, centered, height and place it on the bottom two bolts to hold the shaft up. Then remove the seal holder plate.
If you need to remove the drive shaft from the machine simply loosen the lock screw in the other bearing and remove the shaft.
If not, only doing one side, then jump to the inspection of parts section.
If you did remove the shaft then it is highly advised that you remove the other side bearing and seal plate. This is so the seal will be installed from the outside with the shaft held steady. Instead of trying to stab the shaft back into the seal from and through the hole in the other side of the machine.
You should also remove the steel plates for re-sealing; this will mean removing the skid plate from the tank as well.
Now with all necessary parts removed from the machine lets move to inspection and replacement section.

Inspection of parts.

Remove old silicone from all parts and clean as needed. If seals are being replaced then remove them from the seal plate now.
If there was ANY leakage from the seals then they need to be replaced. If the inner spring of the seal lip has popped out then replace it, if it is damaged then replace the whole seal. The slightest cut or scratch of the seal lip surface warrants replacement.
Check for rust in the bearing. Surface rust of the housing does not mandate replacement. Rust in the ball bearings does.
Check the shaft for surface scarring or surface rust; clean as necessary with fine "Scotch-Brite" pads. Scarring of the shaft in the area the seals need to "seal to" means replacement. Any other scars or scratches that the seals will have to slide over need to be removed.
The seal holder plate must not have any large scratches on the surface that seals to the tank. Most importantly they must hold the seals tightly.
Order parts as necessary. Be sure to have all necessary parts before starting the replacement section.

Seal Replacement.

First thing is the orientation of the Clipper seal or simply, which side up when I install it into the holder. Both seals go in the same way. Seal side up as you press them down into the holder. Note; The second seal will stick out from the holder almost 1/8" when installed fully.
Apply a thin bead of silicone in the bottom outer edge of the seal recess. See picture.
Before applying silicone to the outer surface, as shown, press the seals into position. See picture.
After installing the seals, excess silicone must be removed. Make sure that the silicone does not get on the lip that seals to the shaft.
If your only doing 1 side skip to #9.
Now re-install the plates-bearing bolt, if they were removed. Put a bead of silicone around each bolt on the plate. Then press them into place and hold in place with the before mentioned 21.75"stick.
Obviously the skid plate assembly had to be removed before step 6. When placing the assembly back into the tank double check that the TOP side is facing the jets wall. Position it the same way as step 5 and 6 of the Prep. section. This time make sure that the slack in the belt is on the backside of the plate. This makes sure that when you insert the shaft through the hole that it will go inside of the belt.
Install the shaft with head pulley through the side of the tank. Make sure that the side with the keyway is on the motor side. If you are attempting this by yourself, here is a helpful hint. Take 1 bearing and put it on the non-motor side of the shaft, let about ¼" of shaft stick out of the collar. Tighten the locking Allen screw. Then slide the bearing onto the bolts just far enough to get the nuts on. Then put at least 2 nuts in place. This will hold the shaft as you work on the other side.
You must now lubricate the shaft and the seals in order to install them on the shaft. Marine grease or White Lithium is commonly used for this. Be sure to grease the shaft from the end all the way to where the seals will be for operation. Also use some of the grease to fill the area between the two seal lips.
Now apply the silicone to the holder plate around the bolt holes. As shown above.
Time to install the seals onto the shaft. This is the hardest part to get right! The seals must be pushed onto the shaft perfectly straight! The plate can not be "angled" for an easier start. This will cause the inner springs of the seals to pop out, and this condition may not seal at all. If it does seal it will not last long. The one thing that can help is to rotate the shaft while pushing the seal plate into position.
With the seals started on the shaft, have the bearing ready for immediate installation. Now grab the shaft and move it so that the bolt holes line up for installation. Once lined up, press into place followed immediately with the bearing so that the seals do not carry the weight of the shaft. Make sure the grease fittings are facing the back of the machine.
Now install and tighten the nuts on the bearing. Don’t wait to tighten this bearing, as this is what seals both the inner steel plate and the seal plate to the tank. Don’t forget the bonding wire on the motor side.
Tighten the locking Allen screws in the bearing collar to hold the shaft centered.
If you need to do the other side as well then repeat steps 9 through 14 with one obvious note. When you remove the "place holder" bearing installed in step 8 place something on the bolts to hold the shaft up and centered in the hole.
With both sides completed. Both seal sets and both bearings are now installed. You need to center the shaft. First loosen all of the locking Allen screws in the bearing collars. Then, using a large screwdriver, from the inside of the tank pry the head pulley to either side as needed to center it in the tank. Then re-tighten the locking Allen screws.
Set the gear-belt pulley on the shaft. Pull the gear belt back out and place in around the shaft and onto both pulleys. Then re-install the flange adapter onto the shaft and line up the keyway slots and install the keyway. Now while holding the pulley tight into the belt, slide the pulley onto the adapter and line up the through holes of the flange to the threaded holes of the pulley.
Line up the two pulleys while tightening the bolts in the pulley. As you tighten the bolts the pulley will be drawn toward the end of the shaft, so account for this in your adjustment then finish tightening.
If you loosened the motor for this procedure or if the belt simply feels loose now is the time to retighten it. Remember there are 5 bolts holding the motor in place.
Now lower the skid plate back to its normal position and lock it down.
Remove your helper stick if you used one.
Put the side skirts back on before filling for testing. You can fill to test for leaks with the back bottom panel off. Be sure ALL panels are in place when finished.
Replacing the shaft should not effect the belt tension. But it is always a good idea to check it. See, Track Treadmill.