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Re: [TowerTalk] US Tower making clinking noise

To: Towertalk Reflector <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] US Tower making clinking noise
From: Bob K6UJ <k6uj@pacbell.net>
Reply-to: Bob K6UJ <k6uj@pacbell.net>
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2017 16:52:23 +0000 (UTC)
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Ken,
Jim has a good diagnostic plan.  I suspect it is the gearbox also.The gearbox 
on your MDXMDPL has a worm gear and they need to be 
drained and relubed periodically.  Preferably with synthetic lube as Jim 
stated.  The original gear lube is very dirty if it has never been changed 
in 19 years and is probably making the noise.  The worm gears do a sliding mesh 
when they rotate and the sliding surfaces gradually wear down.  The wear is 
accelerated as the lube gets dirtier.  I am usually pretty regular about 
maintenance 
greasing all the grease fittings, etc every year but overlooked gearbox on my 
MDX589MDPL.  I drained it and the lube was very dirty.  I drained it and 
refilled it 
with synthetic and ran it for a few minutes, drained it again and filled it 
again with 
synthetic.  Hub City, the makers of the worm gear boxes on our MDPL's, 
recommended doing the flush with a synthetic lube or their synthetic flush 
oil.I opted to use the same synthetic lube for flushing. They said the 
synthetic lube is 
not compatible with the petroleum based lube that was in the gear box 
originally 
and they recommended a flush.  They highly recommended going to a synthetic 
lube.I noticed the gearbox only got slightly warm when raising or lowering the 
tower after goingto the synthetic.  Before it would get hot to the touch.  
Even if the noise source doesnt turn out to be from the gear box it would be a 
good ideato change the lube anyway.  Let us know what you find !
73,BobK6UJ






      From: Jim Thomson <jim.thom@telus.net>
 To: towertalk@contesting.com 
 Sent: Sunday, February 5, 2017 6:17 AM
 Subject: [TowerTalk] US Tower making clinking noise
   
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2017 07:16:22 -0500
From: "Kenneth Sobel" <kenxxx@optonline.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] US Tower making clinking noise

my us tower hdx-572mdpl is 19 years old.
now it makes a continuous clinking noise when it is raised or lowered.
The noise comes from either the flywheel or the flywheel shaft or the gear box.
I cannot determine exactly where.
It sounds like high frequency as the shaft rotates. Not a grinding noise.
otherwise the tower raises and lowers without any problem.
The motor, motor shaft sheave, and belt are new.
Is this something serious?
de Ken W3JJ

##  temp remove the belt.  Then operate the motor in both CW and also CCW. 
If it runs smooth, its probably the gear box.  In which case you might want to 
replace the
gear box oil with new oil....and pref  synthetic.  If it still screwed, either 
replace the gear box, or
get it rebuilt. 

##  also, with or without the  belt off, you should be able to easily turn the 
big pulley by hand, and
make the tower go up or down.  If the gears get mashed inside the gear box, 
then you are in a mess.
It will be stuck, and you wont be able to raise..or lower the tower.  And thats 
not what you want if the
tower is even partially extended.  In that case, the bottom of the 2nd section 
needs some steel below it
on 3 sides, to take the weight, while you remove the chain and gear box. 

##  get it all looked after now, before you get into a gong show down the road. 

Jim  VE7RF

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