# Porter Cable 7539 to 7518 conversion



## howarddavidp (Jun 12, 2012)

Hello,

I wanted to make a post and tell about this conversion. As I have posted elsewhere, this conversion is possible, and you only need to buy 1 part, the lower housing for ~ $45 online.

I know people have said this is not possible, but if you cross-reference the parts, you will find that it is, and the conversion was not very difficult for me. The only tool I would say makes this job easy is an impact wrench/gun. This helps get the arbor nut off and then back on. I also omitted the switch because I am going to use the motor in a woodpecker sidewinder lift, and I will use a 3rd party switch mounted on the table next to the lift lever, so the motor itself is always-on, once the cord is plugged it, it is running.

On notes for the process, the hardest parts were getting the arbor nut off, and then getting the bearing out. Attaching the wires from the plug to the motor wires was not hard either. I used heat shrink tubes and some small nuts and bolts. Both the cord and the motor wires already had round eyelets crimped on the wire ends, so inside the router upper housing I just put them together and installed the shielding via the heat tube. Once I tucked everything in, I put on the top cap and I was ready to work.

The bearing was easy, but I was lucky enough to have some large over sockets. I used the sockets to hammer/press out the bearing, and then install it into the new lower housing I bought online from a replacement part supplier. Once this is done, I installed the arbor and the nut into the new housing, and I was ready to attach the top part.

I used small screw drivers to hold the brushes away from the shaft so I could assembly the upper and lower parts. Once together, I pulled out the small screwdrivers and the brushes and magnets snapped into place. I then installed the 4 screws that hold the upper and lower housings together.

After all was said and done, I put the motor into a wood vise and plugged the cord into a strip to act as my on-off switch. The 1st time I turned it on, I got nothing. I was pissed, so I checked the cord, took the top off, and tried again. 2nd time was the charm, and it fired up. It has a delayed start motor, so it worked up to speed. I then tried all 5 speed settings, and they all worked perfectly. I was ready to mount this into the Woodpecker Sidewinder 420 lift, as that model comes with the motor "blocks" ,as they call them, to hold it in place. It fit perfectly, and I tested the motor again after it was installed. Again, it worked without issue, and I am now ready to install the whole unit into my table top cast iron routing surface.

So, if they say it is not possible, just look at the parts and examine what is different. Luckily, I used ereplacementparts, and they had cross referencing part diagrams, so you know what parts are common to different models. this is how I was able to find out which parts, or single part, I needed to do the conversion. for some reason, the same part is listed twice, at 2 different prices. I bought the $45 part, and it was the correct one.

I look forward to the raised panel doors I will make with this. You can't go wrong with 3 horses to rout with 

Dave


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## cmelville42 (Jun 9, 2018)

Just wanted to confirm that I was able to convert a porter cable 7539 to a 7518 with the purchase of just a single part, the Lower Housing Assembly (A23246) for $59.98 from ereplacementparts. Very much worth doing, as it allows me to mount the router in my Mast-R-Lift II. Like Dave, I did not replace the switch since it will never be used and it was a needless extra $25 to spend. I also replaced the bearings while I was in there.

Chris


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## cmelville42 (Jun 9, 2018)

Just in case anyone wants to do the reverse, convert a Porter Cable 7518 to a Porter Cable 7539, I have the parts you need, at least for now.
PM me.


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