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Rega planar 3 bearing and oil

I recently reoiled my rega planar 3 bearing. It had oil in it, and on the shaft of the subplatter, and the turntable had no obvious problems, but I figured it was probably due for it's 3000 mile change, and besides, I like to tinker !
I removed the ball, inspected and thoroughly cleaned all surfaces using isopropyl alcohol, and then added a few drops of castrol hypoid gear oil (as recommended by rega) and checked that the new oil was drawn to the very top of the subplatter shaft.

To my amazement this has resulted in a considerable improvement in the sound of the turntable. Gone is any hint of glassiness or sibilance in the high frequencies, that used to make the deck sound very very similar to my CD player. The sound is just as detailed but beautifully smooth. I wasn't expecting anything like this ... but for $4 of oil (and I have quite a bit left over :-)) I'm very happy.

So any brave owners with old rega decks try changing the oil ... you might be very pleasantly surprised.

On a related issue I noticed that some high-end decks come with ceramic or saphire bearings, of very high tolerance. I have found that www.bocabearings.com can supply such bearings for around $4. Can anyone think of a negative impact of trying a high-precision bearing in the Rega ? Should I stick with steel ? There is an aftermarket subplatter for sale at music direct that uses a ruby bearing.
seandtaylor99
seandtaylor99 OP
1,262 posts
 
The bearing is 3/16 inch.

From my confirmation email from Boca bearings :

3/16IN-C Si3N4 GR.5 BALLS (Ea.) $3.95

I've been using this bearing for about a year now and played probably several hundred hours on it. It seems fine. Like I mentioned above, not a startling improvement from the steel bearing it replaced (unlike the SHC634 oil).
jasonh37
15 posts
 
Hey guys thanks for the info, I am going to try this out. Like you said, for the money it can't hurt to try it out.
jasonh37
15 posts
 
Thanks Sean, for all the help. I installed the bearing with the new oil, and I am finally happy with my table. Also, thank you to everyone else.
djordan's avatar
djordan
5 posts
 
I stumbled upon this today - as I'm pulling an old Rega deck off the shelf and re-introducing to my system - and *also* recent to performing maintenance on some of my old bicycles... Anyone see where I'm going with this?

3/16" is exactly the bearing size for the *front* wheel of most of the older bikes - 70's and 80's maybe some 90's too. (typically 20 bearings per wheel). The rear wheels typically used 1/4" bearing (18 per wheel).

I pulled out the Rega bearing - compared it to a recently replaced front wheel bearing - and they are really close, but the 3/16" bicycle wheel bearing looks to be a tiny bit larger than the Rega. I couldn't possibly quantify the difference (and it's somehow possible that I don't have an original Rega bearing), but they are slighly different.

For the heck of it, I installed an obviously larger 1/4" bearing (rear wheel) on my table, and it seems to work just as well (while also very slightly changing the tracking angle).

In any event, table sounds good!
johnbonn
41 posts
 
Late to the thread reading through it 2 drops, not sure but thinking the housing should be full so the shaft and sides of the housing are lubricated to provide lubrication and isolate the shaft from the housing. I am finding it takes 8 to 9 drops and the fluid just escapes from the top with the subplatter inserted. If not thinking the shaft will be grinding against the housing....
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