Opening mount bearings for cleaning

Discuss Meade mounts.
Post Reply
User avatar
StarLord101
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 95
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:52 pm
3
Location: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Status:
Offline

Opening mount bearings for cleaning

#1

Post by StarLord101 »


Anybody managed to open up any of the ball bearings in their mounts? In my case, for an lxd75, but really any mount that would use them (seeing as they pretty much follow the same concept). I was going to avoid doing anything to it, as they are notoriously fickle and easy to damage, but I noticed a problem. As I am spinning it slowly, there is clearly some kind of grit or debris, probably metal shavings/shards inside with the ball bearings, because it will suddenly seize and you can feel and hear crunching sounds like someone using a mortar and pestle. I can obviously get passed that point without a large amount of force, but the fact remains that it is randomly stopping cold (not always in the same spot) and not very smooth. When I have ever had to open bearings before, it was for rollerblades, and you could pop the shield off (the little section in between the two spinning surfaces that covers the ball bearings and semi seals the body) In this case, trying to pry it off gently to flush it out just results in the shield bending. And I've read horror stories about people trying to do this and having to replace the entire bearing as a result from trying to pry it open the wrong way. I have tried to flush it out, manually scrape out any visible grit and lubricate it, and the issue remains. So I am left only with the choice to gain access to the inside and flush out the debris or I will be having far worse performance than previously.

Image
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12Hh6IK ... sp=sharing
LXD75 GEM mount used with 90mm Meade Refractor, 102mm Celestron reflector, and a deforked Original Meade ETX Mak
Canon T1i stock
Various modified or 3d printed DIY enhancements or tweaks
Does a kids sunglass lens count as a fancy filter? Cause I have lots of those :)
Image
Lola Bruce United States of America
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 67
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2019 9:05 pm
4
Location: So Cal USA
Status:
Offline

Re: Opening mount bearings for cleaning

#2

Post by Lola Bruce »


Replace the bearings. Do not be tempted to change to seals stay with shields. Much less stiction.

Bruce
User avatar
StarLord101
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 95
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:52 pm
3
Location: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Status:
Offline

Re: Opening mount bearings for cleaning

#3

Post by StarLord101 »


Lola Bruce wrote: Fri May 01, 2020 12:51 am Replace the bearings. Do not be tempted to change to seals stay with shields. Much less stiction.

Bruce
The LXd75 is what....about 15+ years old now? I don't think you can get the parts for it anymore short of finding another mount to buy for scrap parts unless i'm mistaken?
LXD75 GEM mount used with 90mm Meade Refractor, 102mm Celestron reflector, and a deforked Original Meade ETX Mak
Canon T1i stock
Various modified or 3d printed DIY enhancements or tweaks
Does a kids sunglass lens count as a fancy filter? Cause I have lots of those :)
Image
User avatar
yobbo89 Australia
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 2561
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:44 pm
4
Location: australia qld brisbane
Status:
Online

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Opening mount bearings for cleaning

#4

Post by yobbo89 »


I put bearings in a latex glove and tie end off with a lump of grease in the glove and kneed the new grease in which aswell pushes out the old stuff aswell as any junk, it should improve the bearing a fair bit but nothing can fix worn out bearings.
scopes :gso/bintel f4 12"truss tube, bresser messier ar127s /skywatcher 10'' dob,meade 12'' f10 lx200 sct
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .

Image
User avatar
Piet Le Roux South Africa
Jupiter Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 284
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 6:33 pm
4
Location: Bloemfontein, South Africa
Status:
Offline

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Opening mount bearings for cleaning

#5

Post by Piet Le Roux »


Good day, If you take accurate measurements of the bearing with a caliper you can get a part # from bearing distributors. I use to replace the bearings in my model aircraft engines and remove the seals to allow the fuel to flow through them: there is no way to replace the seals once removed.
Main Equipment : Tele Vue 27mm Panoptic, 7&13mm Nagler, Big Barlow : 8" Meade LX90ACF with Meade 2.0" Enhanced Diagonal : Camera Fuji XT100
User avatar
StarLord101
Moon Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 95
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:52 pm
3
Location: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Status:
Offline

Re: Opening mount bearings for cleaning

#6

Post by StarLord101 »


Piet Le Roux wrote: Fri May 01, 2020 9:51 am Good day, If you take accurate measurements of the bearing with a caliper you can get a part # from bearing distributors. I use to replace the bearings in my model aircraft engines and remove the seals to allow the fuel to flow through them: there is no way to replace the seals once removed.
So if I'm understanding, unlike other bearings, once the shield is removed, that's it that's all correct? Glad I heeded everyone's advice then
LXD75 GEM mount used with 90mm Meade Refractor, 102mm Celestron reflector, and a deforked Original Meade ETX Mak
Canon T1i stock
Various modified or 3d printed DIY enhancements or tweaks
Does a kids sunglass lens count as a fancy filter? Cause I have lots of those :)
Image
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Meade mounts”