I've got a JennAir garbage disposer that got some plastic food wrap
accidentally washed down the sink and is now wrapped around the
cutting mechanism below the top grinding plate... The nut attaching
this is extremely rusted... To remove it, I'm likely to need to
replace this top grinding plate and the nut since it has basically
rust-welded itself together... Are these types of parts available or
will I just need to buy a new unit?

--
N581 -- AA5A -- AXH
http://www.narcosis-republic.us

How old is it? If these parts are rusted, it doesn;t sound like the
rest of it can be far behind. Given what parts for things go for
these days, I'd likely junk this.

Take the unit out from under the sink (if you break it you will have to
pull it out anyway).
1. Wire brush and spray the nut with penetrating oil.
2. Find the right size allen wrench that fits in the bottom of the
unit. Make sure you get this seated well, you may even need to tap it
in with a hammer.
3. Wire brush and spray the nut again.
4. Lay the unit on its side and wedge the allen wrench so the unit
can't spin.
5. Wire brush and spray the nut again.
6. Put a socket and ratchet on the nut and smack the ratchet handle
with a hammer.

Repeat steps five and six until it comes apart or you break it. You
may even want to try heating the nut with a torch if it look like you
won't melt anything.

Did you try turning the unit backwards with an allen wrench? Some of
the newer units alternate directions each time you run them but most
older ones didn't.

Grumman-581 wrote:
I've got a JennAir garbage disposer that got some plastic food wrap
accidentally washed down the sink and is now wrapped around the
cutting mechanism below the top grinding plate... The nut attaching
this is extremely rusted... To remove it, I'm likely to need to
replace this top grinding plate and the nut since it has basically
rust-welded itself together... Are these types of parts available or
will I just need to buy a new unit?

--
N581 -- AA5A -- AXH
http://www.narcosis-republic.us
Hi,
Get a small tool called spring hook(looks like dentist pick) and try to
break the wrap loose little by little. Need patience but it'll work.
GL,

Grumman-581 wrote:
I've got a JennAir garbage disposer that got some plastic food wrap
accidentally washed down the sink and is now wrapped around the
cutting mechanism below the top grinding plate... The nut attaching
this is extremely rusted... To remove it, I'm likely to need to
replace this top grinding plate and the nut since it has basically
rust-welded itself together... Are these types of parts available or
will I just need to buy a new unit?

Find a chemical that will dissolve the plastic food wrap (paint thinner,
Acetone, gasoline, alcohol, ...).

Of course whatever you use may damage any rubber seals within the unit...

If it's old and rusted, it's probably on it's way out anyway. Go to
Menards or Home Depot and get yourself a new one. I wasted time trying
to repair one once. It worked but quit on me a week later, so I had to
buy a new one. I wish I just would've bought the new one the first
time.

On 2 May 2006 10:38:45 -0700, "Bear" wrote:
If it's old and rusted, it's probably on it's way out anyway. Go to
Menards or Home Depot and get yourself a new one. I wasted time trying
to repair one once. It worked but quit on me a week later, so I had to
buy a new one. I wish I just would've bought the new one the first
time.

Since it didn't look like I was going to be able to get the nut off
without destroying the top plate in the process, I went up to Lowes
and bought a new one... Once home, I finished the removal of the old
one and noticed that when I removed the drain elbow fitting, I could
view the inside where the plastic wrap was wrapped around the shaft of
the motor... Used various tools (screwdriver, knife, needle nose
pliers, etc) to remove pieces of the plastic wrap... Even though I
couldn't see anymore of it, when I turned it, I could still hear what
sounded like a small amount of scraping, even though is seemed to spin
freely... Took the unit outside and put a 2700 psi pressure washer on
it through the hose... Cleaned it up (rust and plastic) rather
nicely... Reinstalled it and it worked... Took the new one back to
Lowes... Turns out the old one started leaking though... Probably
removed and reinstalled it over a dozen times before I finally got it
to not leak... Had to evenually replace the rubber splash guard /
mounting gasket and put a bead of plumber's puddy between it and the
metal rim of the unit to finally keep it from leaking... Seems that
the corrosion over the years had make a couple of spots in the rim
just a bit lower than the rest of the rim and my cleaning it up
removed the calcium and whatever deposits that were making it
watertight... I determined that trying to hold up the unit with one
hand while trying to screw on the mounting ring from under the sink is
a real pain in the butt... Putting an automotive screw type back under
the unit makes it a lot easier... Unfortunately, I didn't come upon
this idea until after I had reinstalled it around 10 times... Yeah, my
shoulders are a bit sore this morning from the cabinet edge digging
into them... Oh well... End result is that it's back to working...

Grumman-581 wrote:
On 2 May 2006 10:38:45 -0700, "Bear" wrote:
If it's old and rusted, it's probably on it's way out anyway. Go to
Menards or Home Depot and get yourself a new one. I wasted time trying
to repair one once. It worked but quit on me a week later, so I had to
buy a new one. I wish I just would've bought the new one the first
time.

Since it didn't look like I was going to be able to get the nut off
without destroying the top plate in the process, I went up to Lowes
and bought a new one... Once home, I finished the removal of the old
one and noticed that when I removed the drain elbow fitting, I could
view the inside where the plastic wrap was wrapped around the shaft of
the motor... Used various tools (screwdriver, knife, needle nose
pliers, etc) to remove pieces of the plastic wrap... Even though I
couldn't see anymore of it, when I turned it, I could still hear what
sounded like a small amount of scraping, even though is seemed to spin
freely... Took the unit outside and put a 2700 psi pressure washer on
it through the hose... Cleaned it up (rust and plastic) rather
nicely... Reinstalled it and it worked... Took the new one back to
Lowes... Turns out the old one started leaking though... Probably
removed and reinstalled it over a dozen times before I finally got it
to not leak... Had to evenually replace the rubber splash guard /
mounting gasket and put a bead of plumber's puddy between it and the
metal rim of the unit to finally keep it from leaking... Seems that
the corrosion over the years had make a couple of spots in the rim
just a bit lower than the rest of the rim and my cleaning it up
removed the calcium and whatever deposits that were making it
watertight... I determined that trying to hold up the unit with one
hand while trying to screw on the mounting ring from under the sink is
a real pain in the butt... Putting an automotive screw type back under
the unit makes it a lot easier... Unfortunately, I didn't come upon
this idea until after I had reinstalled it around 10 times... Yeah, my
shoulders are a bit sore this morning from the cabinet edge digging
into them... Oh well... End result is that it's back to working...

Yes, but for how long? And how much is your time worth? I would have
just replaced it. Things like this aren't worth wasting time on.

wrote:

Yes, but for how long? And how much is your time worth? I would
have just replaced it. Things like this aren't worth wasting time on.

It's not the destination, it's the journey. Why else are we interested in
the Indianapolis 500?

He had fun; that's what counts.