# Classic, now entirely stripped down and cleaned; what should I replace?



## dave g (Dec 5, 2010)

Apologies for my long absence! My Classic (bought for £10 at a car boot 3 years ago, grubby but in great working order) has now become reluctant to produce a decent espresso. The symptoms of its malaise are:

- pump makes plenty of noise, and will produce water, but not at any great pressure

- coffee emerges without any crema

I have cleaned the head back to the underside of the boiler, and flushed the machine repeatedly. The results remain the same.

My questions are:

- now the machine is stripped, should I replace the pump? It sounds as if it's on its way out

- should I replace the solenoid valve? (this was not calcified when I drew out the piston and spring

And if I did replace the pump, should it be an exact match for the current Invensys model, spec as follows?

- 230v/50hz

- 65watt CLF

- 1-1,5 mins

- mod CP3AST

You'll appreciate I understand very little of what this really means, but notice that 65-70 watt pumps are quite a lot more expensive than the ULKA models all over eBay.

Any help anyone could offer would be much appreciated.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Have you descaled as well as flushed it?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

As long as the S/valve was clean inside I would not replace it "yet" it should b e OK.

With reference to the pump apparently you can use either Evencys or Ulka. Before you replace it, it would be worth while stripping it down and cleaning it out from what you said about the M/ch condition when you bought it.Have a look on I/net for Ulka pump strip/repair,quite a detailed description/exploded views.

The 1 and 1.5 min refers to the running and resting time. Ie If you run for 1 min you should let it cool/rest for 1 .5 mins


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## dave g (Dec 5, 2010)

Charliej said:


> Have you descaled as well as flushed it?


Yes, I did descale as well, and quite thoroughly.


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## dave g (Dec 5, 2010)

Thanks for the response, and for the advice. The solenoid was surprisingly clean, so I'll keep it for the moment - until it proves treacherous, of course. Your advice re the pump is welcome, so I'll go a strip down first.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Whilst you have the machine stripped down maybe it would be worth splitting the boiler to check the internal condition.


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## Fevmeister (Oct 21, 2013)

How would you split the boiler Charlie


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

There was a thread somewhere on the forums about doing this I will have a search but from memory you have to remove pretty much everything so you can remove the brew group/boiler assembly and from there the bolts holding it together are fairly obvious. The obvious caveat is that the bolts mave have seized so this must be undone carefully, once undone the 2 halves will then come apart, you will need to replace the boiler gasket afterwards as it will more than likely come apart along with the 2 halves.

Its been quite a while since I did mine but I didn't use a guide to do it as it all seemed pretty straightforward to me, but I am fairly well experienced in taking electronic, electrical and electromechanical devices apart to repair in less than optimal circumstances.


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## dave g (Dec 5, 2010)

And there lies another major problem. I smugly disassembled the lot - and then fell at the last fence when, despite penetrating oil and heat, I cannot shift those 4 Allen bolts. I leave it overnight with the oil on, apply a little heat - nothing. The Allen bolt is a great concept, but the leverage you can exert is actually quite small.

HELP! If there's a useful tip to pry these two final chunks of metal apart, I'd really appreciate hearing it.


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## hubrad (May 6, 2013)

I've never had any more difficulty in shearing Allen screws than hex head!:-D

If this is anything like the Kitchenaid I stripped a while back, I'd say the problem is one of steel bolts in aluminium threads. Either keep working patiently or be up for drilling out and re-tapping.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

By oil I presume you mean WD40 I do not find it particularly good for freeing nuts and bolts" PLUSGAS" is far more effective. For those 4 allen screws I have found applying heat to the aluminium with a soldering iron works fairly well, also you can soak it in vinegar as it works on the corrosion.

You can apply extra leverage to the "A" key with a short piece of pipe/tube OR socket extension bar with holes for a "T" bar through OR small socket on the extension bar. (careful not to shear bolts !!!!!!!)


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## dave g (Dec 5, 2010)

Thanks for the response. Yes, I had considered drilling out and replacing the bolts, but settled for an intensive descaling. The whole machine is uber-clean.

And, miraculously, is now all back together, and the lights come on etc. However...the water still isn't emerging from the shower head with real conviction, so I think a new pump is in order.

Any further thoughts on this? I'm about to buy a CP3A today, and will report back.


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## Funrunna (Nov 28, 2013)

Drilling and retapping is an option of course, but have you been heating the allen bolt rather than the surrounding metal work with a key inserted to act as a heat 'shunt' for the bolt itself?

I'm sure you will have tried a piece of tubing over the key for extra leverage??

I'm sure the above may be to obvious to merit my reply, but for just in case it helps.


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## Funrunna (Nov 28, 2013)

Sorry dave g. I didn't see that you'd reassembled everything... Please ignore my former reply.


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