# Gaggia Classic is about to jump off my counter



## anotherbrick (Aug 25, 2017)

First post!

So I just bought a use Gaggia Classic, to replace my little DeLonghi EC155... (yeah, I know). The previous owner had modified it and stuck a Silvia steam wand on, so that could be nice.

Previous owner stated it hadn't been used in a while, so I started out by priming the pump, etc. as directed on some of the stickies...

Holy shit. As soon as the pump started going I thought there was an earthquake happening.

I had water flowing through the steam wand and the group, so things seem to be functional at least. I wanted to post here for thoughts, I'm pretty sure I've found my issue as the rubber pump support seems stretched and torn (see attached photo). My initial thought is that this is causing the pump to vibrate like mad and hit the steel wall of the Classic.

I shoved some cardboard in between the wall and the pump and this seems to have helped quite a bit, though still bad. I've got a new pump support on order, so hopefully that arrives soon. Any other thoughts as to what might be a factor here, or is this very likely the problem?

I've also found that the little nut that holds the steam wand up to the copper steam tube seems not to thread well, and I haven't seen a specification for just the nut (looks like Gaggia's parts list does that whole thing as an assembly) anyone know the specs so I can try to find a replacement nut that threads correctly?

Anyway, hoping to start playing with this thing tomorrow now that I've polished it up a bit and poked around the inside... (cleaned up nicely too!)


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

The slots in the back of the gaggia casing.

Thread a cable tie through some of those and around the pump.

Tighten the cable tie so the pump is not touching the side and isnt being held at too much of an exagerated angle.

I did this to mine and it's much quieter in operation


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Reference the nut on the steam wand, does it tend to unscrew when you move the wand ??. If so you may need to file a touch off the end of the pipe where it fits into the copper pipe. If the pipe is a fraction long it loosens the nut as you move the steam wand. Is the "O" ring still inside ?


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## anotherbrick (Aug 25, 2017)

Jumbo, thanks for the tip, I may give that a shot (though I'd prefer not having zip ties hanging out the back =)

El carajillo, nah, the nut seems to stay in place, and I believe the o-ring is there, I gave the machine a whirl this morning and it did pretty well. Steaming worked fine, it's more of a visual annoyance than anything. I think the threads got a bit beat up by the previous owner, so it threads in a bit, then stops but I don't think it's too long, etc. I might see if I can borrow a tap and die set, maybe running it through a die will clean it up a bit.

I did notice a bit of water leaking out over the portafilter while pulling shots this morning. Pretty sure that's just the group gasket being old, got a new one on order...

All in all, even while still trying to figure it out it's pulling better shots than my old toy machine =)

Cheers!


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

How untidy a job you make of the cable tie is down to the individual.

Heres mine, i like to think it effective but unobtrusive


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## anotherbrick (Aug 25, 2017)

Thanks Jumbo, that's definitely not *the worst* =) I'll be doing some experimentation once the replacement parts arrive, just going to live with it for a bit instead of opening it up 3 or 4 times to tinker. I'll try to remember to report back with findings.


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## DaveP (Jul 14, 2017)

> cable tie


They come in many colours ... and at a pinch (pun intended) can be attacked with a nice silver sharpie pen, lol


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