Frozen shaft on your At Pro

[2wheeldevil]

Could not budge the shafts apart by hand so had to use a little more power.
I took a drill bit the size of one of the holes in the upper shaft, put it thru the shaft and then put the drill bit into the bench vice.
Put a wrench on the end (lower shaft) where the bolt connects to the coil. Luckily it came loose; you could twist your shaft off using this method if you get too rammy.

 

[Dancer]

Had that problem. Ran hot water through it, back & forth. Than pored light oil down it. Worked it loose.

 

[Roscue2]

I have had the camshafts lock up on me. I personally hate camshafts, and like the locks the Ace 250 uses. I have never had them lock up on me to the extent that camshafts have. Plus, it seems like the camshafts are a lot easier to break when u have to pry them.

 

[WaterWalker]

The best cure is a bit of prevention. If the shaft goes in the water, fresh or salt, the shaft is taken apart, rinsed and reassembled. If used only on land, the shaft comes apart and is rinsed every time I charge the batteries. Every 3 or 4 times apart I run a paper towel wrapped around a dowel through the shaft. I do not use oil or grease of any kind as they will hold the silt in the water and the salt, if it dries.

This practice is good for all my detectors, except my ATX. It requires more frequent and extensive cleaning. After EVERY use in water the camlocks and shafts are rinsed before leaving the water, power washed when I get back to the car and then rinsed off again with the garden hose when I get home. Before putting the ATX away the camlocks get a bit of compressed air shot at them and the shafts are left extended.

 

[Joel-Winnipeg]

I've used WD 40 generous amount let sit then slowly start moving the rods,
With some persuasion it comes apart.

 

[Turak]

I would recommend GENEROUS amounts of spray silicone on them.

Clean them, and hose them down with the silicone spray when reassembling.

Should only use silicone spray on most types of plastic.

Any type of petroleum based spray (I'd even be careful with WD-40) and the plastic cams and/or shaft may not going to fare well in the long run.
It can tend to make the plastic soft, gummy, sticky, etc. in the long run, actually making the problem worse next time.

 

[FrankG]

+1 for Turak

I have also used Silicone spray and even Silicone grease on the cam locks with great success (no problems in a couple years I've owned the AT Pro).

I also loosen and clean the cam lock threads about once a month (or sometimes more) just to keep them operational. After each saltwater beach hunt I like to do it also, and give the detector a nice fresh water bath. It's amazing how salt and sand gets in the cam locks and into the shafts. Not only will the salt crust up over time but the sand also scores the aluminum and plastic parts which eventually jams the rods. Also careful not to over tighten the cam locks.

Fresh water and land hunting requires far less cleaning than the ocean environments.

I'm also not a personal fan of using WD-40 around plastic or rubber parts. It damages some types of synthetics and ruber but not others and I don't know how to tell in advance so I just don't do it.

 

[togamac]

Have had that happen on my early AT Pro. I sent it in for the upgrade and it came back with the cam locks and a looser fit on the bottom rod. I did away with the cam locks - thought they were a big pain in the a$$ and haven't had any problems since with the locking up. Before I leave the water, I work the lower rod and sleeve back and forth under water to remove any silt that may have gotten between them. Has worked out OK so far.

 

[8720roger]

P b blaster worked for me,now I run some wd40 once in a while and it does the trick good luck.

 

[Leslie(nova scotia)]

Used ot have that problem but now.........I just tear her apart and clean it after every outing! No problemno.

 

[Davethejunky]

I have had the same thing happen to me on other detectors. I now use a dry lube like Burlife or burlube. It's like a wax, works better than oils and a lot lot lot less messy. I use it for my milling machine to keep the bits from freezing up.