JBL L150: REFOAMING THE WOOFERS

[Chazmatic]

Hello fellow Speakers: My beloved pair of 150's needs to have the woofers refoamed. I bought these in 1979 and lately I noticed a fluttering coming from the woofers. I took off the grill on one of them ( I have not done this in 15 years) and the foam around the woofer was falling apart. I did buy the refoaming kit on ebay. The problem I'm having is: I removed the screws from the woofer (4) but the woofer won't move. I even tryed to remove the midrange to go through and reach under the woofer to push up on it but the midrange won't move either. If there some kind of glue holding them inplace?? Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks again. Chazmatic.

[neanderthal]

I just had my L-150A's and L-220's reconed and they weren't excessively bad to get out.JBLpro told me I had my work cut out for me so it sounds to be a common problem.I was just able to raise one edge and just keep working at it and they finally came out.The L-220's were a different matter they were a fight,and I never did get the passives out as I didn't want to destroy the cabinets.So to answer your question I do not know if there is a best way to do it...I just kept working at them and they finally came out.Only one of the 128H came out real easy.The LE-14A's were like they were welded in.I know this isn't much help..I had the same problem with mine.

[Zilch]

I have two techniques:

Exposed edge: Utility knife blade as a wedge. Just the blade. Tap the back edge with a small hammer.

Recessed edge: Face drop. Consider well what you are doing, and protect surfaces and other drivers as required. Start small.

[johnaec]

I even tryed to remove the midrange to go through and reach under the woofer to push up on it but the midrange won't move either.That wouldn't have worked anyway - the midrange is in a separate sealed chamber.

The method Zilch mentioned is the best. Take a piece of 1"x1" wood about 15" long and tape it to the top front edge of the cabinet baffle so that it's on the front and parallel with the top of the cabinet. Be really carefull around the 033 tweeter, because it extends in front of the baffle a little and can be easily damaged if anything touches it.

Next, lay the cabinet down face-first on the floor, with something like a towel to protect the cabinet where the bottom edge rests on the floor, (the "top" edge of the baffle will be resting on the piece of wood you taped on).

EDIT: I just remembered there are grille mounts down there, so you'll have to add a piece of wood down there to keep the cabinet up.

Now, lift the "top" end of the cabinet about 1" up, so that there's 1" or so clearance between the floor and the piece of wood. Then, drop the cabinet, and that little 1" drop should be enough to knock the speaker loose, and it will drop down less than an inch to the floor.

John

[edgewound]

Hello fellow Speakers: My beloved pair of 150's needs to have the woofers refoamed. I bought these in 1979 and lately I noticed a fluttering coming from the woofers. I took off the grill on one of them ( I have not done this in 15 years) and the foam around the woofer was falling apart. I did buy the refoaming kit on ebay. The problem I'm having is: I removed the screws from the woofer (4) but the woofer won't move. I even tryed to remove the midrange to go through and reach under the woofer to push up on it but the midrange won't move either. If there some kind of glue holding them inplace?? Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks again. Chazmatic.


Don't do the face drop...you might ruin the cabinet for good...or bad...er....don't do it.

The rubber O-ring on the back of the driver is helping to hold it in tight...try going around the driver with a blow dryer and warm it up to work it loose.

You could also try to loosen it with some lighter fluid as a solvent...it will eventually evaporate away....use it sparingly....then pull up on the frame lip with needle nose pliers padded with electrical tape.

[Chazmatic]

I did not do the drop or the razor knife. I was having some Cherrystones (with :biting: Dave's Insantiy Sauce) and had the idea of using the clam knife: :applaud: BINGO, it worked like it was made for it. One out three to go. Thanks for the idea's.