SP 100 Repair or Conversion??

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Hey all! First post on this forum. Glad I found it. There's a lot of creative people here.I've got an SP 100 (it's about 10 years old) that quit feeding the wire and decided to get a 155 w/MIG conversion kit.Anybody here have any thoughts on how to fix this so I always have a back up machine?I also wonder if the cost to repair the drive roller system is ridiculous, would anybody think it's possible to modify the machine to use as a tig or stick welder?Thanks for any help!
Reply:The problem you described could be caused by many things.  Someone would need to open it up and start checking it out.  Lincoln can email you wiring diagrams and even the schematic for the PC board.It wouldn't work very well to use this machine for stick or TIG.  These are constant current processes and MIG is a constant voltage process.Are you sure you even have weld output?  When the weld output fails, the wire drive will no longer work in many machines.Good luck,
Reply:Just to have some numbers for comparison, I had to replace a drive motor for my ancient MM130 and it cost me $105.  It was easy to replace myself.  When it had seized, it blew the fuse, so check those first.
Reply:Welding power? hmmm.... something to check out.When the machine quit on me I was in the middle of a project that needed a quick turn around. So I had to buy the new machine. Didn't really get a chance to check out the almost dead machine.Thanks for the insight for potential areas to check out.It'll be awhile til I can look at it cuz I'm in the beginning of an outage at work... 6-8 weeks!If I find a fix I'll put it on here.
Reply:This may be a really dumb question, but have you tried the machine after it had a chance to cool down?This machine only has a 20% duty cycle, if my memory serves me correctly.  Everything would stop if it tripped an internal thermostat, but then work again after cooling.  I also don't think there are any over-temp warning lights or indicators of any kind.Cheers,Bob