Dillon RL 450b & 550b lube/galling ?

[wogpotter]

Quick background.

Owned an RL450 with the "b" upgrade for years, liked it never had a lube or galling problem ever. I usually do a tear down clean lube adjust once every couple of years, yearly if I reload a huge amount.

I'm getting an RL550 ("b" I think, it has primer warning & double rollers for the priming rod connection). Together with a bunch of "stuff", I believe including a press maint/lube kit from Dillon in a big flat blue box. It appears to not have any lube holes in the linkage. It was used extensively,but has sat idle for 18 months & has a little surface rust. I don't have much more info & just a couple of fuzzy pics, so this is the extent of my information till it arrives in a few hours. The original owner has passed on so I can't ask him & his widow who is delivering it has no knowledge of reloading.

I have no experience with the 550, just the 450b so I have a couple of start-up questions for those that have owned both the 450 & the 550.

1: does the 550 lack, or not need the primer depth adjustment bolt as in the 450?

2: could it be fitted if I decided I still preferred the positive stop?

The press does not seem to have the lube holes in the linkage. I'm assuming an older model as the linkage pivots seem to not have the nylock nuts, but the "e" clips.

3: How serious a problem is the alleged "galling" of the linkage & how vital are the holes for grease? I used 3-in 1 electric motor oil in my 450 with no problems, is there some difference in materials or construction with the 550 over the 450 that would prevent me continuing to do so?

4: If the pivots are frozen/galled what is the suggested fix (other than sending it back to Dillon) to get them un-frozen & working again?

[iraiam]

The only galling I have experienced was one time on my 12+ year old RL550B, the left pivot pin seized up. I did clean and lube the main ram of the press, but I neglected these pivot pins, I'm afraid I am to blame for it (lack of maintenance).

The pins are pressed in, it takes a complete disassembly to remove them. The right pin is hollow, which allows a long straight punch to push out the solid left pin, then the right pin can be pushed out with the same punch. I did all the work myself, although I understand that Dillon makes a punch tool specifically for this. Take care not to damage the cylinder wall when removing the pins.

I did not replace the link that galled, I just cleaned up the hole and re assembled, in hindsight; I should have drilled oil holes in the link arms, but I just use a little zoom spout oiler to lube the pins.


My RL550 has no primer depth stop adjustment, just push the primer in until it stops, I'm not sure if it could be added.

[FrankenMauser]

I have only owned the 550b.

The zerk fittings aren't too critical, but they do prolong the time between complete tear downs for lubrication.

My 550 seized up (right link) after about 20 years of use. But... it was rarely cleaned by the previous owner, never fully torn down, and almost never lubricated (other than 3-in-1 oil on the exposed portion of the ram). And, it saw "binge" use from the previous owner - months or even years of sitting idle and collecting dust, followed by large runs of ammo.

Dillon actually recommended I buy bolts of XX by XX size to use as punches for the hollow and solid pins. (They specified the sizes needed, but I don't recall what they were.) I bought 2 bolts, labeled them each as "Dillon 550 pin punch" and they went with the press when I sold it.

You have to tear the whole press apart, and then remove the pins.
Then, I carefully honed the bores of the linkage all the way up to 1600 grit, and did the same for the pins.

During reassembly, Dillon recommends using ONLY grease on the pivot pins and ram (and primer slide). They say oil is not adequate to prevent galling.


It was smoother than brand new, when I got it back together.


A lot of 550 owners will tell you that you need to have Dillon send a special tool to align the shellplate platform when you reinstall it on the ram. But, Dillon told me they didn't even make them or keep any on hand any more. They said to install the primer feed system, lower the platform over the primer slide, and tighten everything down so there was no binding. If the platform clears the primer cup, it's properly aligned.

[243winxb]

Break Free CLP keeps my old Dillon RL 450 working. Newer models have this fitting.