Warning: A worn out governor rope on a 1980s Dover in downtown Phoenix almost caused a free fall

I was doing a full inspection on this old Dover at the old bank building on Central Ave last month. The governor rope looked fine at a glance, but when I gave it a real tug, a whole section just crumbled in my hand. If it had let go under load, the safety would not have caught it. I shut the car down right there and called for a full rope replacement. Has anyone else run into a rope that looked okay but was totally shot inside?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_hall511d agoMost Upvoted

Ever think about how many of these old ropes are still out there just waiting to fail? What kind of maintenance schedule was this thing even on before you found it, like were they just doing the bare minimum checks? Makes you wonder if the oil from the governor was soaking into it for years and rotting it from the inside out, you know?

abby_murphy11d ago

Honestly that's terrifying, makes you second guess every visual check. Did you notice any weird fraying or discoloration at all before you pulled on it, or was it a total surprise? I've heard of ropes getting brittle from heat and old age but crumbling on a tug is next level. What did the core look like when it broke, was it just dust?

tessap9711d ago

We had a 12-year-old static line at my old gym that looked fine until someone gave it a hard test pull. The sheath seemed okay but the core just turned into this dry, brown powder, like someone filled it with dirt. It's the hidden rot that gets you, totally agree about oil or just years of sweat and grime eating it from the inside. Makes visual checks feel pretty useless when the real damage is invisible.