motor noise

[tonyturley]

Hello all. 1st post here after lurking for a while. I have a 55 Greenie, on which I just completed the Gilmer -> Poly-V upgrade. Wish I could say it was smooth sailing, but I had a couple of hiccups. The idler key somehow slid forward in its slot when I put it all back together, allowing the two sheaves to rotate independently, and keeping the floating sheave from closing completely. Lowest my speed would go was K. After getting that ironed out, I accidentally pulled a motor plug loose from the switch, and didn't realize it until all was reassembled. Sigh. I seem to be back up to running now, and look forward to more turning. My Greenie has been in our family almost 50 years (bought used), and it has provided many years of enjoyment.

My question involves the motor. I upgraded to the 1 1/8 hp motor over 30 years ago, but now it is making a rattling sound. Not grinding, but I'm still thinking it might be the bearings. How hard are they to replace? I don't have a bearing press.

Tony

[edma194]

If you haven't changed motor bearings before then you may want to take it to a motor shop to replace the bearings, they should not charge you much and they'll have the bearings. However, before going to that step I think you should look for other sources of a rattling sound after all the work you've done on the machine. If you find nothing else you'd have to pull the motor to change the bearings and you can then check to see if there's still noise with the motor running outside of the machine.

[tonyturley]

Thanks Ed. The rattling is coming from the motor, as the noise is still there if I pull the motor pan and run the motor independently.

Tony

[DLB]

My question involves the motor. I upgraded to the 1 1/8 hp motor over 30 years ago, but now it is making a rattling sound. Not grinding, but I'm still thinking it might be the bearings. How hard are they to replace? I don't have a bearing press.

Tony

Welcome to the forum. I find that most bearings can be replaced without a true press, but some type of bearing puller is more or less a necessity. A bearing splitter is preferred, and a relatively cheap kit from Harbor Freight is more than adequate. Whether you drive or press a new bearing into place, the important thing is to only apply pressure to the race being seated, always the inner race on a Mark. As Ed said, an electric motor shop is a great alternative to doing this yourself. Typically Mark motors will also benefit from a thorough cleaning, they tend to fill with sawdust.

- David

[Hobbyman2]

any chance you can describe the rattle ? I would be confident in saying if you rebuilt the SS you could rebuild the motor , just a word of caution , be sure the shaft still spins with out binding , when the bearings are replaced they should be seated properly , not too deep and yet deep enough . this video may help as well as the information you get here . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJkhA8XmrKs

[chapmanruss]

There is another possible source of "noise" that can come from the motor besides the bearings. The Motor Pulley is made up of two parts. The front moving sheave with the spring for pressure to keep it closing against the belt and the rear fan sheave. The rear fan sheave is held in place by a set screw which if loose will allow the sheave to be pushed into the motor housing. There is a spacer on the shaft to keep the rear fan sheave properly spaced but that can wear down. The motor only being around 30 years old may need new bearings, but the bearings can last much longer than that. That is if the replacement motor was new. I have had many motors from Model 10E and 10ER plus older Mark 5's that the motor bearings were still in good condition. Checking the rear fan sheave first may find the source of the noise and only needs to be repositioned to correct the problem. A new spacer for the sheave, part number 504205, can be purchased if worn.

[tonyturley]

Thanks for the additional info everyone. I never considered the possibility the noise could be the motor sheaves. I'll have a look this week.

Tony

[chapmanruss]

Tony,

Do let us know what you find. It is always helpful for us to get feedback to know if we were on the right track or if we missed something.

[tonyturley]

I will, Russ. We went from mid-60s F to single digits and about 6" of snow practically overnight. My garage is an ice box right now, so I'll wait until the temp has returned to a bit more bearable before going back out there to work. Worst part about using an unheated/uncooled garage as my shop is the weather extremes.

Tony