Damaged tonearm bearings or not?

[chebandoneon]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a used Thorens TD 166 mk II, seems like it is in decent condition overall and sounds really nice, however there is some weird behavior with the tonearm horizontal movement.

When I remove it from the rest lock it feels a bit stiff, then I play with it a bit and it's motion becomes smooth again. I kinda have to do this everytime because if I don't and try to play a vinyl while it's stiff I noticed that it may get stuck in a loop during playback.

Is this something to worry about? I read that it could be a sign of damaged bearings. I don't mind doing this little "ritual" everytime, but could this issue worsen over time or even pose a threat to the records?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dr. Ear]

There is a chance that the horizontal bearing just needs some adjustment. Remove the top cap and loosen the top bearing just a little bit until the tonearm moves freely. Of course, if the bearings are damaged this won’t help much.

Thorens-TP16-bearing Clearance-Adjustment | PDF | Phonograph

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[chebandoneon]

There is a chance that the horizontal bearing just needs some adjustment. Remove the top cap and loosen the top bearing just a little bit until the tonearm moves freely. Of course, if the bearings are damaged this won’t help much.

Thorens-TP16-bearing Clearance-Adjustment | PDF | Phonograph

Scribd ist die weltweit größte soziale Plattform zum Lesen und Veröffentlichen.

de.scribd.com

Thanks for the reply, I already did that, and it does make the tonearm movement more loose, however it still feels stiff around the ends of the horizontal range of motion.

 

[Dr. Ear]

Can you take out the upper cone for closer inspection? The lower bearing is less susceptible for damage due to it’s size. The wires do not interfere with lateral movenent?