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Don't use this to lube your VPI Classic bearing

I recently lubricated the bearing on my Classic using white lithium grease purchased from ACE Hardware. The brand is AGS; it came in a white 1.25 oz tube. After about a week, I heard a whooshing sound coming from (under) the platter at each spin. I removed the platter and the sight was not pretty - some of the grease turned into a gooey brown substance and pooled at the bottom of the shaft; there were some chunks of the grease inside the hollow. I didn't use that much of it and it looked worse than after a full year of use with the original job performed by VPI.

I cleaned it all out, and the whooshing sound went away. So if your Classic is due for maintenance, stay away from this particular product.

Does any Classic owner have a brand/product they can recommend for lubricating the bearing? Considering that you only need a little bit of it about once a year, $26 for the lube from VPI is a bit steep.
actusreus
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Ahoy Captain,

The manual states that you need to put only a little bit of grease on top of the bearing. This makes sense to me as the tight (pun intended :) specs for the bearing make anything more simply excessive, which your experience seems to confirm.

As you lower the platter onto the shaft, you will invariably spread some of the grease down the shaft. The first spin will do the rest. So greasing the shaft in addition to the bearing seems rather unnecessary and redundant. Both times I lubricated the bearing, in addition to the original factory job, the excess would simply make its way down the shaft with gravity.

Really, all you need to do is to put a small amount of grease on top of the bearing and carefully lower the platter. The grease has nowhere else to go but to the right places. I'd think one should avoid removing and reinstalling the platter back and forth due to a simple grease job, which really should just be a quick maintenance job once a year.

But it sounds like the VPI grease is the way to go. Duh, one might say. But $26? Really?
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,475 posts
 
I have to agree with Actusreus....I put just a bit on top of the ball of my Classic platter (on a Scoutmast/rim drive) and it's fine.
captain_winters
133 posts
 
But it sounds like the VPI grease is the way to go. Duh, one might say. But $26? Really?
Actually I did the $6 Super Lube Grease from Amazon as well.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,856 posts
 
If you want an excellent lubricant for all things turntable and tape machine, Dextron style automatic transmission fluid is an excellent choice. A few drops is good in any TT main platter bearing, and if you have to lubricate a motor it works well there also. The only caveat is it does not cost much.
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Captain Winters,
Please let us know how this Super Lube works. It looks like it should work quite well, and saw they also sell 1 oz tubes for $3.

Atmashpere,
The Classic has an inverted bearing so would transmission fluid work? I don't know its viscosity, but anything thinner than peanut butter in room temperature would most likely not work. Or to put it differently, I don't think any "fluid" would work.
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