Grease for stuck CD system

[wilykat]

My CD system got stuck and I've taken it apart. The gear didn't want to turn at first but now turns freely after I applied a bit of force.  I cleaned the worm gear and checked the board for bad caps (non visible so emergency recap isn't needed)

Anyway before I put it back together, it needs fresh grease. I don't have a local electronics shop and it's 20+ miles to the nearest Radio Shack that didn't close.  Local hardware store did have something, only 1 grease that doesn't have any warning about plastic parts. The employee there said he uses it on battery powered tools without a problem.

I doubt anyone would still be using battery powered tool after 25 years like Turbo CD.  But is "White Lithium Grease" ok to use?  This is exactly what I got: http://agscompany.com/product/white-lithium-grease-tube-1-25-oz-cardhardware/

[toymachine78]

Astroglide... Pick it up at most drug stores. I think that will solve the problem with the Dracula X that won't mount as well.

[esteban]

Astroglide... Pick it up at most drug stores. I think that will solve the problem with the Dracula X that won't mount as well.

He's teasing you, wily.

Just use petroleum jelly.

[schweaty]

any white lithium grease should be fine.  remember not to use too much.  a thin coat is all that is necessary

[Necromancer]

White lithium is a good choice.  You just don't want to use KY, as it tends to dry out and cause chafing.

[Keith Courage]

grease isn't going to fix your problem. people need to stop trying to fix the stuck gears by adding grease. It only barely prolongs the actual issue. I can't tell you how many drives I've received for repair over the years that have grease or a lube of some sort all over the gears yet they will not spin.

the problem is that the center hole of your middle gear has swollen making it very difficult to turn. for this you have two options. Buy a new gear or remove the old gear drill out the center hole slightly so it can spin freely again and then reinstall it.

[wilykat]

Astroglide... Pick it up at most drug stores. I think that will solve the problem with the Dracula X that won't mount as well.

He's teasing you, wily.

Just use petroleum jelly.

I used it since I had that one open so I could return the still-sealed white grease and get my $38 back.

Good news: it worked.
Bad news: lasted only about 5 minutes then everything went klunk, ping and sproing inside the drive. When I took it apart, there's white blob where gears used to be, black blobs from limit switch and drive hub, and clear blob from the center of Sapphire CD I used for testing.






Kidding aside, I used the white grease. I read somewhere that petroleum jelly is bad for plastic anyway.  Putting it back together was mostly easy. But I do want to kill whoever used the tiny locking washer.  My fat fingers were too fat, my forceps and tweezer couldn't keep tight enough grip to allow me to maneuver the washer to the shaft. I ended up wrestling with it for about 30 minutes before I finally wrangled it in place and locked it down.

Tested it with Vasteel, it ran fine.

I did drill out the middle gear just in case.  I have a set of tiny Dremel drill set and the smallest one, 5/64" (1.98mm) was just a smidge bigger than original hole (original hole was around 1/16" or 1.6mm), see if that prevents the middle gear from ever seizing up or cracking.  I didn't use grease on the 3 gears, it wasn't needed originally and could only get worse from being gummed up with dust. Grease is usually needed only for metal on metal contact.