I've decided to strip, clean and overhaul my EQ8 after five years of use. While it spends most of its life in an observatory, those cheap steel bolts do not last and rust was starting to set in on the tripod bolting.
I purchased a number of upgrade kits from Shibumi Astro Engineering in Ireland and they arrived a week ago. After digesting the instructions, I have started work on the mount. The scope will include:
1. Replacement of most of the carbon steel bolting with stainless on both the tripod and the mount.
2. Replacement of the deep groove 608 bearings with angular contact 708A bearings.
3. Replacement of the DEC drive coupling with a stiffer option.
4. Replacement of the 80XL RA timing belt and pulleys with a 2GT system with Fairloc clamping systems.
5. Replacement of the DEC weather seal to prevent moisture ingress.
Tony from Shibumi has done a good job documenting how the mount comes apart including some quite detailed assembly drawings.
https://shibumi-astroengineering.com
I'll post pictures as the project progresses..here are a couple showing the kits and the tripod with new bolting.