My 550B is hard to operate. The shell plate, primer feed and powder slide all work just fine. It's the ram that is very stiff. It has been lubed with 30 wt oil as well as all the oil holes on the pivot points. I just called Dillon but of coarse they are closed for the holiday. Anyone else had this problem?
Problem with Dillon 550B
- Thread starter JohnnyO
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Skip Sackett
US Veteran
Take one of the pivoting arms off at a time. Clean and lube, replace. Do to both sides and report back.
How long has it sat since you last used it and where does it abide?
How long has it sat since you last used it and where does it abide?
Maximumbob54
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No BS? 
Skip Sackett
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No BS?
They have to be open though! hahaha
Maximumbob54
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Should have bought a LEE.
Just remember to keep that turret head retaining ring clean...
(he says as he's trying to roll his own .40SW this morning)
Yes. You'll probably need to disassemble and clean all the linkage for the ram. There are also little holes at each end of the toggle links. I use a needle grease fitting (like the ones used on chain saw bar tips) to inject grease in these holes.
othomas3
Member
Check the set screw under the shell plate on the ram body and make sure it is not protruding. Don't ask how I know this...
Should have bought a LEE.
Whatever for? I'll take Blue or Green over Red any day of the week!
Skip Sackett
US Veteran
Should have bought a LEE.
This from the guy that just started a thread about how to fix this same kind of problem from "THE GREAT RED" turret press?
But I knew how to fix it.
Hey I had to get a Red plug in there. You Blue guys always do.
Photog
Member
I like Dillon, but have to ask, if I have a Lee does that mean they will be available anytime I need help? 24/7, 365 days a year! I doubt that, so guess I will stick with a REAL reloading press.....in other words, Dillon!
quinn
Member
Mine got real stiff at one point, too...it is 24 years old and spends winters in an unheated garage. Old grease on the inside of the ram assembly had turned to shellac. I had to soak it to get it clean. I am a 550B fan and have put a lot of miles on mine.
358156hp
Member
Dillon won me over in the early days by going that extra distance when I really needed it. LEE lost me around that time with all the stupid little parts breakage and time lost by mailing parts back & forth.
jepp2
Member
I had a swing arm gall on my RL550. Mine was the era before they put the lube holes in the swing arms. Next time I have mine apart, I am going to drill and tap them for a grease zerk.
If you call Dillon they will send you for no charge a locator pin that is used to align the shellplate platform to the main shaft. I got one, but wound up not needing to use it.
It is fairly easy to disassemble and it's a good time to clean and lube everything.
If you call Dillon they will send you for no charge a locator pin that is used to align the shellplate platform to the main shaft. I got one, but wound up not needing to use it.
It is fairly easy to disassemble and it's a good time to clean and lube everything.
Well after some disassembly and cleaning we are back up and running strong! Quinn, you were right, the crank pivot pin was the culprit. It was stiff as hell and a PITA to remove. But after cleaning and greasing all pivot pins it's smoother than ever!
This machine is 19 years old and has never given me any problems. I,ve rolled tens of thousands of rounds when it was new. Feeding myself and my 2brother in-laws as long as they would pay for the components. It sits in the basement were its warm and dry, but I'll admit it's been idle for years. I would do just a couple of hundred rounds a year. I caught the bug about 6 months ago when I found a nice 586 I just had to have. Since then I been buying bullets in bulk again. Thanks for the input folks!
This machine is 19 years old and has never given me any problems. I,ve rolled tens of thousands of rounds when it was new. Feeding myself and my 2brother in-laws as long as they would pay for the components. It sits in the basement were its warm and dry, but I'll admit it's been idle for years. I would do just a couple of hundred rounds a year. I caught the bug about 6 months ago when I found a nice 586 I just had to have. Since then I been buying bullets in bulk again. Thanks for the input folks!
Even Dillon is not open that much. Take a joke and get off your high horse.
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Maximumbob54
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I'm starting to think my resistance to Blue is the volume of troll post slams that some many members of Blue seem to enjoy.
Well, I own a 550B, but would have no problem with a Lee Classic Turret, it's a fine press. I have friends who own them and are quite content.
Maximumbob54
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The 550 I used was fairly old and very well used. I wonder if the issues I had with it were that it was in need of a little love. Maybe I would favor them more if I tried a new one or one that had been shown a little more care over the years. Everything seemed so loose fit and allowed a lot of wobble in the press I used. It was in the Nevada desert in a garage so maybe the dust had taken its toll over the years. I was thinking of maybe buying another LNL AP for not having to swap the priming out (which is really pretty easy but yes I'm that lazy) and maybe I should try a 550 of my own. Or at least a SDB since it would be for .40 SW only.
Skip Sackett
US Veteran
I do not have an RL550B, I have it's predecessor, the RL450B.
This was one of the original models with the manual primer and powder drop. I will be honest, I love this press BUT, had to get those two items upgraded!
I have less in it than what a new RL550B would cost and it works like a dream. It was rough when I got it but, I cleaned it up and it works great.
Personally, if I had a Hornady LNL AP, I probably wouldn't have bought Blue either....Now that I have it, and several caliber conversions, it would seem silly to change now, although, I am such a tool junkie, it may happen yet anyway!
This was one of the original models with the manual primer and powder drop. I will be honest, I love this press BUT, had to get those two items upgraded!
I have less in it than what a new RL550B would cost and it works like a dream. It was rough when I got it but, I cleaned it up and it works great.
Personally, if I had a Hornady LNL AP, I probably wouldn't have bought Blue either....Now that I have it, and several caliber conversions, it would seem silly to change now, although, I am such a tool junkie, it may happen yet anyway!
Skip Sackett
US Veteran
p.s. Bob, get another LNL with a case feeder for the 40S&W, you will be glad you did.
I want the LNL Reloading factory with all the case and bullet feeders. That looks like a deal! I could load all my bullets, brass and primers in one day!. (well almost)
Harrison
US Veteran
For a turret press, I will go green. The Redding Turret is one solid massive hunk of precision metal. Love my early 90s vintage 550B also. It just keeps chucking them out. I do tear the thing down and clean/grease all the linkage every Christmas.
I ended up with a Dillon purely by chance. When I looked into reloading, I was at the local range and Dillon is what they carry. The "No B.S." guarantee and the fact that parts and accessories are literally 10 minutes away sealed the deal. And like the Beach Boys said : "Be true to your school"
If they dealt RockChuckers, no doubt I'd be into "The Wearin' O' the Green"
If they dealt RockChuckers, no doubt I'd be into "The Wearin' O' the Green"
Maximumbob54
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I couldn't live that close to the Dillon factory and not look like a member of the Blue Man Group. That close I think everything I own would be blue.
