The shockmounts on the Wacker WP1540 and WP1550 plate compactor are wear items that require inspection and servicing. Just like oil, belts, and spark plugs, shockmounts should be inspected regularly for defects or wear. Wacker recommends inspection every two weeks, or every 50 hours.

Check your shockmounts for wear, cracks, and damage. Check for separation from the rubber. An easy way to tell if your shockmounts are bad if you have excessive belt slack. You should only have 1/4" to 3/8" of deflection in the drive belt. If you have a relatively new belt and you're experiencing lack of belt tension, your shockmounts need to be replaced. You can do more damage to your WP1540 or WP1550 belt when lifting the compactor with worn shockmounts. By using the lifting ring, you're transfering mass to the drive belt, causing premature wear or evening breaking the belt.

Many WP1540 and WP1550 owners will replace single shockmounts at a time. We do not recommend this. We recommend that you replace all four shockmounts together. Although less expensive to replace only one shockmount, it will increase the wear and stress on the remaining three shockmounts since they're not performing as well as the single new shockmount. If two shockmounts are in reasonable shape, it is still recommended to replace all four, but keep the two reasonable shockmounts as emergency spares.

So far:

• Check shockmounts every two weeks or every 50 hours
• Check for excessive drive belt deflection- new belts should only have 1/4" to 3/8" of play
• Worn shockmounts are often confused with a worn belt
• Replace all four shockmounts together, never replace only one shockmount

To replace your shockmounts, follow these procedures, 

• Remove the drive belt
• Remove the 4 bolts and lift the upper section away from the baseplate
• Using locking-pliers, remove the shockmounts from the baseplate

Installation of the shockmounts is the above procedure, reversed. If your shockmounts are worn or damaged, it's also recommended that you replace the drive belt on your Wacker WP1540 or WP1550. As mentioned above, worn or damaged shockmounts lead to excessive stress on the drive belt. 

The shockmounts for the Wacker WP1540 and WP1550 are part number 0130000. The drive belt is part number 0111158.