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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
 
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.
brf
1,715 posts
 
ATF works in well type besarings but not inverted bearings.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,856 posts
 
Inverted bearing? OK ATF won't do for that...
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
So I finally lubricated my Classic with this particular grease that was ok'ed by VPI. I found it quite thick and not slippery, almost like toothpaste. But what do I know; after all, it has Teflon in it, which is one of the most slippery substances known to man...

Well, I started listening earlier today and actually heard the pitch was off on a U2 album. My SDS was set to 60.20 Hz. When I checked the speed with the KAB strobe, the platter was spinning way too slow. I had to go up to 61.85 Hz to get the speed dead on. So what the hell? That can't be right. If I didn't have the SDS, I could not listen to without removing the grease. I find this extremely frustrating as this should be a simple maintenance job that turned into a major headache.
slaw's avatar
slaw
21,774 posts
 
I use Permatex white lithium grease from a major auto parts retailer. The OCD in me says, check this out, however, I've not noticed any noises in over a year ( I use a HW-19MkIV w/non-inverted bearing/w/ceramic bearing,SDS, so I think I'm fine. I know it's expensive, but I invested in a Sutherland Timeline and have never regreted it. I know from what I've read that the Classic has good speed stability, IMO, if you're MAJOR into analog, get a Timeline. It will/should rock your world.
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