Quote:
Originally Posted by leon
Could it be that the lube has gone a bit off and is sticking, or can anyone shed any light on the subject.
Any suggestions would be muck appreciated.
Leon  |
Hi leon, if you haven't changed anything and it worked for months then yeah - definitely the lube. I got a bit of water in with the dew and moist weather this year and the grease in the radial bearings in DEC and RA was so thick it got really sticky at low temperatures and the mount wouldn't go anywhere, even with the clutches lose.
Pulled it apart, turped the whole lot and soaked it all in WD40 for half a day (bearings) then re-assembled. No problem then. I try to do this once a year in warm weather preferably, coz the meshing of the worms works best from warm to cold than the other way around in my experience.
EDIT: here's a tip for the worm meshing that works really well for me. Unbolt the whole DEC assembly from the RA. Leave both clutches in. Take both motors out, just leave the gearboxes with casing attached to base plate. Take traverse off DEC and unscrew both left and right DEC blocks. Unscrew the blocks to loosen them a bit. Now take the traverse and use it as a guide to align the left and right worm block by pushing the whole assemby against the gear so the worm meshes with the gear. While you're doing that push the right block against the worm as well. Tighten both blocks while pushing the traverse against the gear. That will stop the blocks from rotating and pinching the radial bearings on the worm (that's your 76s error there, twisted bearings popping up) when you tighten the hex screws on the back of the base plate. Now run your thumb or index on the Oldham coupler and everything should turn nicely. If it doesn't then shim the back of the right block and do the same again until everything turns nicely. If it does, do the whole 360 on the wheel. Note the "rough" points and shim/tighten again until you're happy with the whole 360. Do the same for the RA and you're good for another year until next November.