Pinging - Martin Whybrow

Just to add that I've got the box off, had to extract the locating dowels and swing it forwards to allow the oil pump strainer to clear. This was very difficult to see until it was off! Reason for removing it is that it runs all the time the machine is on and is irritatingly noisy. Sounded like a knackered ball bearing, I suspected a motor bearing but the motor runs pretty silently when off the gearbox. The two bearings on the worm input shaft have lost their first flush of youth and I've ordered replacements, though I'm not convinced they were the main cause of the noise. The rest of the box looks in decent order, with no signs of distress from any other bearings, so maybe the bulk of the noise is from the cluster of straight spur gears whizzing round together and is normal, something up with which I shall have to put. I'll be interested to hear from Martin, or anyone else with a Sturdimil, of their experiences in that direction.

Tim

I sent you Martin's Email addy last night. Did you get it? (Gmail account) Bob

No, I never use the gmail, can't even remember how to access it! This onetel address still works for incoming mail though I closed the account a year ago.

Many thanks Tim

I used because you used that address in your question! I had to look twice to make sure it was you! I'll resend to onetel just in case martin does not want his addy openly on usenet.

Bob

Thanks Bob, email received. For some reason I only seem to be able to post messages through garble using the gmail address, but I can reply with the onetel addy??

Tim

Just to add that I've got the box off, had to extract the locating dowels and swing it forwards to allow the oil pump strainer to clear. This was very difficult to see until it was off! Reason for removing it is that it runs all the time the machine is on and is irritatingly noisy. Sounded like a knackered ball bearing, I suspected a motor bearing but the motor runs pretty silently when off the gearbox. The two bearings on the worm input shaft have lost their first flush of youth and I've ordered replacements, though I'm not convinced they were the main cause of the noise. The rest of the box looks in decent order, with no signs of distress from any other bearings, so maybe the bulk of the noise is from the cluster of straight spur gears whizzing round together and is normal, something up with which I shall have to put. I'll be interested to hear from Martin, or anyone else with a Sturdimil, of their experiences in that direction.

Tim

Yes, that gearbox is a pig to remove isn't it! It's even worse to refit, it took me several attempts to get it back without wrecking the gasket that I had spent ages making. I tried suspending it from the table with a chain but found it too difficult to get into position; I eventually knocked up a frame out of 4x2 that supported the gearbox and then lowered the knee until I could slide it in, then raised the knee until the dowels lined up again, that worked very well and I'd recommend it as the way to refit it. My feedbox was noisy and when I took it out I found the 2 bearings on the input shaft were worn out, so it's obviously a common fault. It is still noisy but it's now much more tolerable than before I replaced the bearings; I would describe the noise as meshing gears rather than the loud rumble that it made before. Was the input shaft badly scored on yours? I had to fit a speedi-sleeve so that it didn't wreck the new oil seal because the shaft was so badly marked. I take it you also discovered the grub screws in the input shaft where the motor fits; I scratched my head for hours as to how to tighten these back up with the motor fitted and gave up in the end, the motor's solidly mounted and keyed to the shaft so I think the screws are unnecessary. Martin

The input shaft is OK on mine, no scoring and no grub screws. I can't see what they would achieve. Also no oil seal, so the void between motor and box was part-full of oil. There will be a seal when it goes back.It's occurred to me that, while the bearings don't seem all that bad just spun in the fingers, one of them will be carrying a fair bit of thrust from the worm which will stress it substantially. The book I have shows a 2-piece input shaft with a copper 'fuse' taking the drive between the two, but mine is definitely made from one piece. It looks as though the worm wheel may be pinned to its shaft in a way that might fail before something more serious happens. There was no gasket on the casing, it just relied on jointing compound for a seal. I'll do the same, but with something a bit more forgiving than Stag which is what appears to be on it now.

Many thanks

Tim

What's wrong with Stag?

Just asking, Never used it since I've got sufficient Hylomar Light and Medium for what I need in the near future.

regards Mark Rand RTFM

Nothing wrong with it, just that in that sort of situation with a large metal-to-metal joint where remaking the joint because of a leak would be a real pain, I'd be happier using silicone or another 'gasket eliminator'.

TimL

All back together now with the new bearings, after a quick test run I'm delighted with how quiet it is! Better than I had expected, especially now that I've seen first hand what goes on inside the box. Refitting wasn't too bad, I rigged up a sky hook (coach screw into a roof joist) and slung it from the clutch shaft. A picture of the inside of the box at

All back together now with the new bearings, after a quick test run I'm delighted with how quiet it is! Better than I had expected, especially now that I've seen first hand what goes on inside the box. Refitting wasn't too bad, I rigged up a sky hook (coach screw into a roof joist) and slung it from the clutch shaft. A picture of the inside of the box at

Looks pretty much like mine inside; I was wondering about the worm gear on the right until I read your caption. Where's the lubrication pipe above the bronze wormwheel going? It looks like the upper end is stuffed into the bearing housing, on mine it goes through the large hole to the left and slightly up then into the oil manifold that's just hidden in your picture. Apologies for the broken quoting, OE is being temperamental at the moment! Martin

I didn't examine too closely while it was off, nothing was showing signs of running dry. My guess is that the bearing housing doubles as a distribution manifold.

Tim