Hi I have a PC 503 belt sander that I need to add oil to. I know I am suppose to fill until the oil is level to the bottom of the hole, but there are 2 oil plugs on the right of the sander. Which one do I use for gauging the oil level, the top one or the bottom one, the difference between the 2 is quite a lot when it comes to oil volumn. Thanks in advance. Any info would be greatly helpful.
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In the past twenty years of being a Porter-Cable authorized repairman, I get asked about this a lot. Depending on the period the 503 was built ( 1952-2011), you may have a sight glass on the right side of the sander frame, or it might sport an oil cap; the sight glass was discontinued because it tended to weep gear oil if the sander sat idle for long periods.
Long story short, all Porter-Cable worm drive sanders are filled the same way+ the gear oil should just come to the threads at the lowest oil port. Anything higher will speed up seal failure and trust me, it's no fun to dig oil/sawdust accretions out of a belt sander.