Milwaukee M18 Cordless drill clutch autopsy

Finally got around to stripping the drill clutch down, its a solid bit of kit, nowonder we never kill them, even ramming a 13mm drill through stainless plate dozens of times, or bogging it down in blocks of plastic.

[@chriskain6057]

Taking apart is one thing I want to see it put back together

[@scottmartin7717]

I am here because I got too brave with a milwaukee 0624-20 trying to repurpose the chuck but also the the threaded shaft that it locks onto. Needless to say I opened the gearbox and found an engineering marvel with three layers of gears topped off with those little dogs/paws. I'll never get it back together but damn it seems incredibly well-built. Also yea those seiko chucks are great (they also make the aluminum ones you refer to)

[@MrMacman98]

That big spring you took off with the collar is compressed when you select the torque. The more compressed it is, the less the clutch will slip.

[@matthewmorin3938]

Thanks for posting this video. I always wanted to understand that clutch mechanism without breaking apart my own drill ;). Thx

[@hucks33]

Aussie, if i even had 10% of your knowledge then i'd be a happy man.

[@Noclpro28]

True that!!

[@Caterday1234]

I'd be happy with 5%

[@shawnmrfixitlee6478]

You worked it out great man ! I have taken apart several and you right on the money .. Thanks Ed !

[@zbornaja33]

I dissasembled my M18 CPD and found out gears are "eaten" in gearbox. It had a lot of years so that was no suprise. First maybe negative suprise was that i need to buy whole gearbox and it is impossible to buy just spur gears (nice work milwaukee, see what you did here...)...Ok i ordered gearbox and replaced it but i overlooked that motor assembly has also faulty, eaten gear. So i ordered this piece also. But when i assembled it together the sound i got was not ok, gears were not running ok. I opened it again and i saw that my new motor assembly gear got quite a wear from 5 min "work"...I put extra grease and all and assembled the machine again but it did not help, again i got sound that i did not like, gears being noisy and like there is friction...Now i dont know what to do and where is a problem. Anyone have any idea?

[@NOBOX7]

i took a simaler drill home for a friend to fix one night and the trigger was the only issue, problem is the entire transmission will fall apart on you if your not carfull, it took me an hour to get it working again , it had some tricky little rod and flap for the vairiable slip clutch that im not seeing on your model. i had to do a investigation on the ware and shape of the parts, it took three tries to get all function back ,1st 2nd and 3rd gear plus all 20 slipp settings and hammer drill function, any way the motors in these bad boys are amazing, some have rare earth mags in them bro

[@chicagohavoc]

my 2601-20 was stuck in the 2nd gear. I took my gearcase assembly apart and learned why it was stuck in the 2nd gear. Now that its unstuck I'm about to put it all back together to see if this fixes my gear shifting issue. the slider pins on the back side of the gear case where stuck in the lowest position and looked like they wedged them selves in an area of the metal gliders of the gear case where it likely should not have been. it looks like they created their own indentations from whatever force caused them to get stuck so I'm hoping they don't go that far down again. I'll try to upload a video on this but currently am stuck where Aussie is, when I pulled that top part off the springs and a few washers flew all over the place. I got it put together for the most part but am stuck on the orientation of one of the springs and one of the smallest blue looking washers you see in his video. Will look for other vids or diagrams to figure out where those went.

[@zx8401ztv]

Cant say i understood that too well, my foggy brain guess: While the drive to the chuck is normal the stationary ball bearings push down and hold the outer planitary ring down against the case, so the gears have something to drive against. Not enough pressure on the balls allows the planitary ring to rotate/slip and drive is lost and the jumping balls make a racket.

[@TheFlacker99]

Same, this is a pretty complicated piece of tech. Watching it a second time helped.

[@smallenginedude71]

gee after seeing whats inside the Milwaukee drills you can see that they mean business! quality stuff by the looks of things.

[@Wasmachineman]

Let's hope that, my dad just got one as a bday present (and partially because he made a compressed air line at the guy who gave it)

[@wickedxe]

I still miss ya mate, RIP

[@HotForgeChaos]

I have a Festool DA sander sitting here that's shat its top bearing on the rotor, so the whole thing flops about a fair bit, so I intend to pull that down at some stage and possibly chuck a new bearing in there from one of the other dead sanders we have at work or something. Its got a brand new set of brushes in it too so if I get it going I might hang onto it for home. Its had some abuse too. It looks like it was built in 2003, so 11 years of solid work and abuse. Not bad value for money I reckon. They are worth a fair bit brand new Had I not subscribed to you and watched a whole pile of autopsy videos, I probably would never have thought about doing a teardown on anything, even my Duratec V6 engine. Now I eagerly await the next video because its guaranteed to be something interesting

[@jrevillug]

Took me a minute. The drive runs through the epicyclic gear box, with the sun gear driven by the input from the previous stage, and the output coming from the 'orbital' motion of the planetary gear set. That arrangement depends on the ring gear being held stationary - which, most of the time, is done by the balls being pushed against the ramps by that large spring. The higher the torque transmitted by the gearbox, the higher the torque required to hold the ring gear stationary. When the transmitted torque is too high, the torque on the ring gear forces the balls to rise over the ramp, and the ring gear turns in the housing - allowing the motor to spin while the chuck remains stalled. The balls dropping off the ramp causes that loud clicking sound which drill-users the world over recognise as the clutch slipping. I guess that when it's in drilling mode the spring is compressed right down to the point of being coil-bound, holding the balls down regardless of the transmitted torque.

[@CKOD]

Given that the ring gear had a ring to slide on, and wasnt fixed somehow, this definitely seems likely.

[@NOBOX7]

would love to see the motor on this thing ed, if you still have it and feal like taking it apart i assure that alone would make a great video, i have actually used some of your vids as technical references bro you teach alot of valuable info on wiring motors and things

[@Mr_Jack_Shelby]

Close, that centre peice with the dogs, is actually the sprag clutch. That's not a part of the tension clutch.

[@NOBOX7]

these things usually have no grease left in them

[@HDXFH]

good quality stuff!, that chuck should be universal too!!

[@JAMESMANHUNT9]

the fifth gear is on the slide part of the vise

[@camguy67]

At the 4:10 mark in the video after you pulled the main shaft out you have a spring and washer on your vise, where exactly do they go in the gearbox? Great video...

[@nightingaleron]

Thanks that was well presented. Mine is only working in the 1 speed setting. if i put it in 2 position i can hold the chuck and it just slips. wonder if it is a stripped gear or do i have to replace the whole front like shown in this video.

[@darreng5178]

cheers mate, I wondered how that works.....

[@BoomBoxDeluxe]

Ooooh, it's rather mechanically complex in there. I hope that the assemblers on the production line are given a good amount of time to put that lot together! Even if I knew where all the bits went and how it worked in there, I'd guess you'd need a good 20 minutes to assemble one of those because of how fiddly it would be. Imagine that.... You've almost got it together and a piddly little ball-bearing drops out and you have to take out a few bits just to get the ball bearing back in.... D'oh!! The last thing you'd need in that situation, is someone on the gearbox-assembly production line breathing down your neck! I'd flippin' go looking for my hammer if that happened! :-O Thanxx for showing, -BoomBoxDeluxe. _24th October 2014, 17.36_

[@MrMacman98]

Some even have a thrust ratchet type clutch in them that slips when the chuck is seized

[@Aussie50]

that is probably the first kind I have seen, on a cheaper drill?

[@MrMacman98]

Aussie50 yeah it was an early ryobi. Didnt last as long as they made it out to :/

[@juliomark8876]

muy buen video amigo gracias asu video pude armar mi taladro milwaukee ya que andaba de tenton ya no lo podia armar jajajajajaj tarde todo el dia pero lo logre gracias a su video carnal ya estaria pagando unos mil pesos jejeje gracias

[@tmgs252]

Estoy en la misma situación, me podrías apoyar con una duda que tengo? No se donde va el resorte que aparece en el video, sobre el tornillo de banco, el más grande de los dos q aparecen, Gracias

[@juliomark8876]

@@tmgs252 buenas tardes amigo va adelante es es esprin

[@juliomark8876]

Ai mismo de reparación de milwoky ay otro vídeo te muestra como lo saca

[@tmgs252]

Gracias por tu respuesta amigo

[@Yoggoth]

4:50 looks like a spindle lock mechanism needed for such single collar chuck

[@freethinker5225]

Do box stores have plastic gears in their power tools? My friend was saying distributors tools have better gears and stuff for tradesmen

[@jasonheyer7441]

i wonder if a clutch inside a electric lug nut gun works the same.

[@jamiesonguy-toogood5827]

You live on the Frankston-Ballnaring line or near by? I heard the train while going trough the old washing machine videos. So fun to watch.

[@Aussie50]

you have a good ear, I am around that line ;)

[@stevenc8140]

occasionally...My Milwaukee Fuel 18 will max out on torque and not turn at all. I know there is a clutch. I am trying to avoid purchasing a $80 gear box and would rather fix it with a new clutch assembly. How can you "Rule Out" which problem is the cause?

[@rodrigueantoun1666]

Hello. Anyone has a link or can provide a video for a clutch assembly for a drill with hammer action being put together?

[@gardzygaming9240]

Would that chuck fit onto a worx drill? Its the only part of a worx drill that let's it down lol

[@viettran-hp6pu]

Hi sir I live in VN i have 1 hammer drill MIlwaukee M18 2702 after 2 weeks to work it is smoke and death, but body light on good i was check soldered it is good, please hepl me, because it is expensive . I buy on ebay, i cant go to usa take it back under warrenty

[@ratnasingampirathaban9436]

viet tran I thing the problem is motor you check that I hoped you give more load to the motor

[@NicsStuffmedia]

At 3:03 you can hear the call of the Lucas bird!

[@campermike8879]

I see the missing little gear It not on the floor. lol

[@steviebboy69]

Was that the little gear I saw under the Gearbox sitting on the bottom of the Vice. Gee I would hate to have to put it back together.

[@superdau]

If you mean the gear on the vise below the gearbox, look again. That's definitely not it.

[@Aussie50]

superdau correct, that one I jammed into the set to unscrew the chuck, other wise it just freewheeled.

[@smallenginedude71]

on the vice....

[@tonyfrewin4822]

CamperMike it's laying in the vice.

[@YiZuSc]

Have you done similar to an impact m18? I may need to re lubricate mine. Thanks

[@Command37]

So the good chuck is the one that came with that drill? What model # is that drill?

[@viettran-hp6pu]

I thing my drill . It is part number 14-20-0037 problem

[@hiptoeknee]

Hey Ed, when are ya gunna host an open day. I reckon your fans would love an opportunity to meet you and each other. Over a weekend, bung on a sausage sizzle or something, maybe raise some money for charity. Just an idea.

[@leandrogatlin3100]

Pro tip : you can watch series at instaflixxer. Been using them for watching lots of of movies during the lockdown.

[@adrienotis404]

@Leandro Gatlin yup, I've been watching on InstaFlixxer for years myself :)

[@dominickaugustus7395]

@Leandro Gatlin definitely, I've been watching on instaflixxer for since november myself :D

[@ralphahmed7669]

@Leandro Gatlin yup, I have been using instaflixxer for years myself :)

[@jamileepiatt9760]

What kind of grease is that?

[@PlasmaX00000]

Hey aussie, how did you come to learn what you know? Did you get a degree?

[@Aussie50]

you do not need a degree in anything to understand how things work, just a lot of on the job experience in workshops, and time spent studying how things work. Gearboxes and clutches all work on similar principals regardless of where they are used, the cordless drill one was easy to figure out. its all in the physics and component geometry., some parts drive, some lock, some are designed to slip. You can see it in how they are worn, ones that slip in the clutch are bright and shiny due to slippage.

[@PlasmaX00000]

Awesome. So you learn everything from experience only? what business do you work in?

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Only have 1 percent Aussie 50 knowledge :(. I am not even worthy to be your pet :'(

[@Aussie50]

lol, I would love to have Knuckles the Echidna as a pet :p, same with a pet Squirtle,

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Aussie50 lol your new pet will find great delight in destroying plasma TVs for you :D

[@thegeforce6625]

first!

[@jamiesonguy-toogood5827]

Btw very immature here, did you deliberately say BALLS louder than other words? XD