# DIY Seesnake Pushrod Replacement & AJ Coleman Shoutout



## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

So lately I've been having terrible luck on pushing with my trusty ole mini. Kinda a good thing though because it allowed me to really test the Microreel which has had to pick up the slack. But yesterday I wasn't able to go 60' from a 4" roof vent. This is where I knew something was wrong because I've done alot of inspections like this out to 140'.....so 60' should've been easy. 

So pulled the entire push rod out the vent and pushed in while watching the push rod and saw the kink at about 30'. No idea why it happened however earlier in the year my push rod was making a crackling noise when using but never lost image. Talking to Chris at AJ, he explained the push rod fiberglass was going out but no telling how long it'll last.

I've had the push rod retermed once before(stupid mistake on my part). Not wanting to buy another camera just for the push rod, Chris told me about them having a new push rod with the wet and dry ends already attached.

Well there's no soldering required for the replacement but it's not exactly plug n play. My mini was about 10 years old and since then the camera head assembly has been changed for the better but it requires complete dissasembly of the camera assembly. Worst still was there's no parts breakdown or instructions. I was going beyond average the lens replacement (which only needs screwdriver and channel locks) which is a 5 minute job. 

Ended up contacting Kirk who had Chris (both from AJ Coleman) call me and help me out. Due to bad cell phone reception, no pics available to Chris but his descriptions and advice were spot on to get me in the right direction. Here's another thing....he was helping me out probably between 9-10pm Chicago time...on his time. That's solid customer service. I can't speak high enough to the guys at AJ Coleman. 


Now a couple things on my mini use. I had roughly 210k feet inspected on that mini. Reason why I say "roughly" is I installed a new count plus in there and it reset my odometer. Since the count plus install, I have 115k inspected and it was at 95k original. I've also ran the mini out to 200' a few times as it was my only camera for some time, so it's been asked to go above what it was designed for. 

Used the mini on 3 inspections today. First 2 easy day...both ground cleanouts 55' and 92'. Third one, hit opposing 45's at 120's and the mini wouldn't make the push as the bottom joint was offset just enough to catch the camera. This has happened before and that's a hard push to get through. The full size got it out to the city at 150' no problem.

So the repair...... Took me 3 hours to do this as it was my first time. Having done it, I know I could do this repair in 1 hour next time. I wouldn't recommend this repair unless you're mechanically inclined to think out the box and have spare cameras just in case. I think a good test would be if you're not completely comfortable rebuilding a warthog, having the spare push rod isn't a good idea for you. Also, I get my camera repair at EPL Solutions.....about 2-1/2 hours away. I'm almost always scheduled a week in advance and can't make it down there at the drop of a hat. If you got a good service center around you, then the extra push rod isn't needed.


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