Agilent IDP-7 Not Pressurizing after Tip Seal Change

So after a tip seal change on my Agilent IDP-7 scroll pump I could not reach pressure aka there was a leak somewhere. None of the guided maintenance tutorial videos or written instructions mention one EXTREMELY important element.

There is a small O-ring on the scroll housing that easily pops off when first opening up the unit or while cleaning. There is a good chance that I may have dislodged this smalls-ring while cleaning and I didn’t even notice. After a few troubleshooting attempts I took a step back to let my brain simmer on the issue. While doing clean up at my work station I found the missing O-ring which helped guide me to finding the leak. My tip seal replacement kit from Global Vacuum came with the housing O-Ring, Tip seals, and this little O-Ring.

IMPORTANT: take pictures of everything after dismantling and before you start any cleaning!

Looking back through my pictures before cleaning I just noticed (after I already fixed the problem) that in one of the original pictires the little O-ring was attached to the scroll housing and not the orbiting scroll. So make sure and replace this O-ring on either plate before putting things back together.

After greasing and installing the new O-ring at this location I was able to reach target pressure in less than 10min.

Do Not Skip

Upon initial inspection and cleaning I did not find any alarming debris in my scroll plates. During other troubleshooting efforts, after replacing the tip seals, I removed both of the gas ballast adapters and discovered shaved metal debris. I was able to remove most all of the debris from both ports. Upon re opening the tip seals I found some of the metal shavings and cleaned them out. Do not forget to add new thread sealer before reinstalling the gas ballast adapters.

I took this opportunity to use a drain brush and isopropyl alcohol to clean out my vacuum hose free of all of the tip seal dust as my pump does not have an internally built isolation valve.