Cleaning Record Player motors

[OvenMaster]

The only way I knew what mine were made of was by haunting Audiokarma for a long time and people said they were oil-impregnated sintered bronze. The color was key... copper-colored instead of the silver-colored steel sleeves that I recall from my long gone V-M. Google research told me how they got the oil into the bronze bearings and how to relube: dissolve and remove the old oil and use heat to make them act like a sponge to suck in new oil.

[Dubis7]

Originally Posted by OvenMaster

The color was key... copper-colored instead of the silver-colored steel sleeves that I recall from my long gone V-M.

I know a previous record player I worked on (RCA 7-ES-6J) had the copper colored bearings. I struggled with that motor for years before I finally figured out a method to make it behave. Overnight soak in lighter fluid (at that time it was kingsford kerosene starter, but I'll be using ronsonol going forward) got the old oil broken up and made it run at the correct speed. Giving it a drop of zoom spout would quickly wear off, though, and I kept having to haul it back to my work bench because the motor would start grinding and squealing. I eventually let the bearings sit overnight in a zoom spout bath, and I've yet to have another relapse. I'm not certain what color bearings are on the motors I'm planning to rebuild, but it seems like copper bearings at least need to have time to soak in motor oil to be fully impregnated.