I am posting this in hopes that by sharing my experience, others will not have to resort to some of the extreme methods (imho) to swap out the casters on the PM2000. This is not to start a discussion about the failure itself. I love the saw, but I too am frustrated and disappointed with the castor failure issue and lack of support by Powermatic. Nuff said.
I discovered my wheels had fallen apart while sitting there. I found some of the wheel material under the saw when cleaning. I decided to go with a metal wheel in hopes of avoiding the replacement procedure again.
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I found these casters at Titan Casters - # W30-125-SS The wheels are 3" diameter with a 3/8 axle. I can't recall the width at the hub, but I think it is around 1 9/16" or so. The Titan casters were a perfect fit. Around $10 each.
https://titancasters.com/product/3-s...apacity-wheel/
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Basically, we are going to replace the wheels only and without lifting or tilting the saw.
First things first, unplug the saw or at least the safety switch.
Open the big black dust door. Remove the dust hose (it’s a press on fit). Wear some knee pads or make yourself a nice cushy stack of foam or something. Oh, and fair warning – watch your head and your back when getting up.
The dust pan / bottom tray is held on place by 4 screws (10mm). Remove those. Now, the pan can be raised. Note that it is not removeable because the caster raising/lowering shaft goes through it. I was able to prop mine up inside the cavity without the need for any clamps, but you may want to clamp it or prop it up.
You may need to clean things up before continuing. Mine was a bit dusty after 20+ years.
Now you will see the 4 casters. The axles are removed by removing the nut on the shaft. Note that the head is round, but it is keyed into the caster forks. It is quite frustrating to try and keep the axle from spinning while removing the lock nut! I used a 2x4 block to press the wheel against while spinning the lock nut. It is very hard to see and I could only get one arm in there. Patience!
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Oh, you might also raise the wheels enough to orient them at 45°, the lower them such that they don’t spin. That helps.
The replacement wheels I ordered fit perfectly. I decided to use a 3/8 hex head bolt to I could hold it with a wrench when re-installing. I cut about 5/8” off of a 3” bolt. I used a washer on the outside of the forks (both sides).
Installing the new wheels is another adventure. A big tip – once the wheels casters have been raised all the way up, the caster body piece can be pushed up quite a bit (vertically). At first glance, it appears that there is not enough height to get the wheel back in, but when you push the wheel forks up, the whole thing raises another ½” or so. Now, wresting the wheels and the axle bolt with one hand is not a fun task. And the two closest to the door are pretty much done blindly. Again, lower the castors enough to keep them from spinning. Once I got the axle through the fork and into the wheel, I applied some lube to the smooth section of the bolt that was still sticking out. Once you get the lock nut started, you can use wrenches to tighten them just enough (9/16” in my case). I just kept tightening until the wheel spun freely but didn't wobble too much.
All ready to go for a spin! (sorry).
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Hope this helps somebody. And I'm sure folks will use this and figure out things I didn't. Please post those ideas.
I don't move my saw much, but it sure is nice to be able to when needed. Looking at the caster setup and the low raising height, I'm amazed that I was able to move this beast from my garage to my shop by laying out 1/4 plywood sheets. Still not sure how I got it over the door sill!?!
Tony
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