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Engine Oil On Turntable Bearings

soundman2

soundman2

OBSESSED WITH 80's MUSIC
HI ALL:music:

Having just picked up a Technics SL-23, one of the things I did was change the oil in the bearing well. Singer sewing machine oil to be exact. It was good but I heard a slight grinding noise from time to time and I was not happy at all with that.

So having read all about using engine oil here on AK I decided to use the same. I have a 5 litre bottle of new engine oil (10-40w) and filled a small 100ml bottle with needle applicator and I changed the oil again in the TT last night.

WOW! What a difference. No noise. This morning I spun the platter by hand and it took 3-and-a-half minutes to stop.....incredible! I think it's down to the viscosity of the oil. From now on I will using that in all of my decks and I'll keep the sewing machine oil for electric motors.

BTW, the oil I am using was bought from a German supermarket company here in the UK (Lidl) and it was their own brand. The oil itself is manufactured in Germany too!
 
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soundman2 said:
It was good but I heard a slight grinding noise from time to time and I was not happy at all with that.
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Hey soundman, if you actually heard grinding then there is something wrong with that bearing IMHO.
 
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HI ALL

I checked the bearing itself and it's fine. I have come to the conclusion that it didn't like the sewing machine oil as it was too thin. But when I first got the deck last weekend and tried it there was no noise! Bill, I maybe should have made that much clearer from the start. My fault.

All I can say is since I put engine oil in the bearing it works much better. It seems to be good quality oil and if it's good for turbochargers, it's more than good enough for turntable bearings. The fastest it will have to contend with is 45 RPM:D:D:D
 
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FWIW, AR used to recommend motor oil (Golden Shell 10W) for the platter bearing and horizontal arm bearing on the XA turntable.
 
So the type of oil used does have a bearing on the result. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
 
The oil I'm using is suitable for petrol and diesel engines, synthetic too. My Kia Rio is Turbo diesel. I fully intend to change the sewing machine oil in my Thorens TD-166 mk2 and Rotel RP-850 bearings as soon as possible.:yes:

Oh, good one, Ken! Like it! C'est Drole!:D
 
Mine: gear oil mixed with axle grease. My Presto manual calls for a parfait of gear oil and vaseline.
But then again, the motors in the old idlers are big enough to drive factory automation, so,... whats a little lube to deal with?
 
I've used Sewing machine oil with 0 problems. And I have an SL-23 too. But, sounds like, oil is oil;
 
the viscosity of a good 10w40 synthetic oil works well for me too..
i also tried 3:1 oil on an Acoustic Research AR eb101 main bearing and its too thin...
those fancy "top secret recipe" oils they sell at silly prices for turntables are probably no better than a good quality engine oil of the same viscosity ..:scratch2:
 
Mobil 1 is what we use in our Thorens classics, our Linns, our broadcast idlers and even my old AR XA. I use Technics oil in our 1200 and SP series tables.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
Mobil 1 is what we use in our Thorens classics, our Linns, our broadcast idlers and even my old AR XA. I use Technics oil in our 1200 and SP series tables.
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What is the Technics oil similar to? I have access to tons of different oils, but that one I would have to order special for one TT. If I knew what it was like I could easily find something similar around here I'm sure.
 
The Technics oil is more along the line of sewing machine oil, maybe a bit thicker iirc.

I think the same thing applies to TT's that works for cars. A bit too much clearance in the bearing and a bit thicker oil to compensate -- a temporary fix anyway, old school.

STP anyone??
 
I use synthetic gear oil SAE80 for almost anything that needs to be lubed. Works perfectly, also for the Technics.
gusten
 
I've used standard household oil, sewing machine oil, and oil sold for lubricating pneumatic tools. All three oils are about the same viscosity from what I can tell. Maybe I'll try something a little thicker next time out of curiosity.
 
I know it's a bad word, but Radio Shacks sells an excellent synthetic oil in an applicator tube for $4.00.

I use it on fan motors an sewing machines. It's a medium viscosity.

The advantage is it won't thicken or turn to varnish.
 
I use 10W-30 on my turntable and it starts better in the winter as long as I keep the spark plugs clean.

\:^)

Dooug
 
soundman2 said:
(10-40w)
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I don't know the specifics, or even if this is true, but I have always been told that you should use a non-detergent oil in applications like this where the lubricant is not changed regularly due to the fact that detergent oils are designed to absorb moisture.

Again, I'm not a chemist, but this makes sense to me. It could be dead wrong. Who knows?

Zach
 
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