Spiral Balance and Pivot-Lock Shoe

Home Owner from MI
I am attempting to replace the spiral balances and pivot shoes in my circa 1990 vinyl windows.

I bought the wrong length spiral balances under the assumption that the upper and lower sashes use the same model. What length is the spiral balance in the photo? I am measuring from the very end of the top.

I cannot seem to find a pivot shoe with comparable dimensions anywhere. I have tried a 5/8" x 1-1/4" shoe, similar to 15-154, but it is a very loose fit. In addition to the images of the pivot shoe, I included a sketch of it with the caliper measured dimensions. Any help will be appreciated.
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6 Replies
Paul
Paul from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert

Hello,

Unfortunately, the company that made your balance system went out of business in the late 90s. With that being said, our 5/8" diameter S600-21 blue tip spiral balance should work as a replacement. 

As for the pivot shoe, I would like to see the original installed in the window track and write-out the exact depth of the track to confirm if we could supply a possible replacement. Thank you. 

Home Owner from MI
See the attached images with the pivot shoe as installed in the window track, full-width cut out I used to remove one of them (later I figured out I only needed to cut out the back half). I also included caliper measurements to the best of my ability on the drawing.
3 user uploaded images
Paul
Paul from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert

Thanks for getting back to us. It looks like the manufacturer added wings to a 1-1/4" wide pivot shoe to accommodate your 1-1/2" wide channel. We are looking into this for you but it may take some time. Please give us a few days to do some digging and we will get back to you as soon as more information is available.

Paul
Paul from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert

Thank you for your patience. Unfortunately, we were not able to locate an exact replacement for your original pivot shoe. You may be able to use something like our 15-047 pivot shoe that measures 5/8" thick. It is only 1-1/4" wide but we added Scotch 1/2" stick-on buttons for cabinets to the sides to make up the difference. We do not have a window on hand that uses this balance assembly to test the shoe but you are welcome to give it a try. 

Home Owner from MI
It's too bad there are no direct replacements for the pivot shoe. I'll give the 15-047 a try with the stick-on buttons.

Thanks for the help.
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