1967 G.E. MOBILE MAID PUMP IMPELLER IS OUT! PICS!

[soberleaf]

gee

i have 3 in one oil that i have been using on all my dishwasher motors and a zoom spout that my friend matt gave me (he's everythingold) but i'll be honest i have packed bearings before with wheel bearing grease and never had a problem that i know of. i have also used 10/30 car oil to be honest but not lately.

so at least in the past year since i started collecting dishwashers in earnest i have always used 3 in one oil but for those motors i haven't, all i can say is hope they run awhile.

but i do appreciate the info as i have been asking the guys at home depot for ages what type oil to use on motors and never got a clear answer. your answer makes sense about the detergent free oil.

i am getting a new motor anyway but would like to try this one. i just wonder if 3 in one will be enough to pack that sleeve bearing since it is a bit worn and the shaft is a bit roughed up.

what is the problem with wheel bearing grease? is it due to additives in it? please inform me! also is there another heavier grease or oil besides 3 and one i can use in this case to add cushion to that worn bearing? thanks

 

[soberleaf]

just put the motor together again

filled lower bearing with 3 in one motor oil (as suggested above) and slapped it together. have not even worked on shaft with steel wool or sandpaper or wire brush and it turns very smoothly! i am amazed! gonna hook it up here and run it a second or two to see what it sounds like. will take it back apart to clean up shaft more when i get to store tomorrow to get the steel wool and sand paper.

i think this motor has some life in it yet

 

[tristarcxl]

Sleeve Bearings...

The type of lubrication in a sleeve bearing matters because of HOW it works.

The sleeve is made of a porous metal (usually Bronze or a bronze alloy). The way it works is that oil is soaked into the pores and creates a microscopic film of oil on the surface of the metal. As the bearing warms up, more oil flows out of the pores in the metal and thickens the layer of oil. During operation, the shaft doesn't actually touch the metallic bearing due to the layer of oil. If kept lubricated properly, the bearing will literally last forever. Most larger motors (think thousands of horsepower) use exclusively sleeve bearings due to the longevity. They actually bathe the entire bearing house in a pool of oil! Some bearings have been around for over a century and are still in operation. Most hydroelectric dams in the northeast have GE gensets which are still running in their original condition with bronze bearings. Those have been turning daily for over 100 years..... I have a Hoover 105 vacuum in my collection from 1919 that's got bronze bearings and still runs like the day it was new! It's been cleaning houses for 90 years!

The problem with grease is that it clogs the pores of the bronze. As soon as the grease gets hot, it becomes a nasty sludgy mess that glazes the bronze. When/if that happens, the bearing is ruined permanently. After the glaze forms, the bearing is no longer lubricated. The shaft will rub on the metal and well.....that's the end of it!

Engine oil is even worse. It contains detergents that are designed to remove impurities and "clean" corrosion or deposits from inside an engine. In the engine, that's what you want it to do! However, when the detergents are in a bronze bearing, they react with the bronze filings that are inherent in the design of the bearing. They in turn actually eat the bronze and turn it into a swiss-cheese like substance. If you've ever used engine oil in a sleeve bearing, pull the shaft out and look what's on it. It'll have a dark black tar-like substance on it. That's the nasty gunk that's come out of the bearing. If you ever use car engine oil in a bronze bearing, you CAN save it if it hasn't been operated for a long time. Soak it in turpentine and get all the traces out of it, then wash it out with Acetone. Soak the whole thing (we're talking FLOOD) with detergent-free oil and let it sit over night. The oil will soak in the bearing and you'll be good to go!

A bearing that's had grease packed in it though is history, never to be saved. If it hasn't been run, you can save it by using the solvent method above, but if the shaft has turned for any time at all, that bearing's days are numbered....

 

[soberleaf]

thanks

so the best thing for a sleeve bearing is to simnply give it a good dose of 3 in one motor oil?

that's what i did i this one.

 

[tristarcxl]

Bingo.

 

[dnastrau]

Lesson on sleeve bearings - thanks!

Thanks for the lesson on sleeve bearings tristarcxl - I appreciate it! I have, in the past, used both grease and car motor oil on sleeve bearings on a couple of motors that were on their last legs. I won't be doing that again!

Andrew S.

 

[soberleaf]

packed that little motor

with 3 in one motor oil (blue can) last nite and started it up, purrs like a kitten! guess water leakage did not hurt it after all. still picking up a new motor tomorrow when i go to parma to see larry.

really appreciate the definative answer on what to oil with, it will be 3 in one motor oil all the way! the best lube around!