Noisy drive (bad bearing?) in 3b2

[Rich Andrews]

In article <4894 at chinet.UUCP> djc at chinet.UUCP (David J. Carpenter) writes:
>The 72 meg hard disk in our 3B2 XM makes a terrible rattling sound.  It
>is intermittent, possibly changing with the room temperature, or maybe
>just random.  It sounds as if it needs a squirt of oil.  However, it
>operates just fine.   
>   
>Is there an exposed bearing that can be oiled?  Will it eventually fail?
>
>
>						Thanks!
>					David Carpenter

There is 2 possibilities that I can think of that would cause the noise that
you describe.  

1) The carbon brush on the end of the spindle that drains off static from
the motor spindle and thus the motor and media.  In that case, you have 
to remove the drive and disassemble it to lubricate it to eliminate the 
noise.  The noise and its cause is harmless albeit annoying.  I had a 
similar problem with the drives that are in my 3b2/400.  I did ultimat-
ly remove them, dissassemble them and lubricate the carbon brushes with
a conductive grease such as molybedenum grease.

2)  The motor bearings are indeed bad and you will have to have them replaced 
as they are sealed bearings.  I have seen some drives that would require a
motor change as the bearings are inaccessable.



-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any opinions expressed are my own.  Now, for a limited time, they can be yours
too, for the incredible price of only $19.95.  Simply send $19.95 (in Alterian
dollars) to ...killer!jolnet!rich.  Or call (312) 301-2100 (data) Rich Andrews