Where exactly do I add oil to VPI classic motor

The noise I am hearing isn't a wooshing sound. It is a ticking or a knocking sound. The sound isn't loud. I can only hear it when the room is really quiet. It reminds me of the sound of a self winding watch escapement. Just a very slight tick every revolution of the motor. I will try to use a syringe to get oil through the very small gap. I think I do see a brass piece below the pulley. I don't see how it would be possible to get oil below the brass piece. As far as I know, I put a single drop of oil on the spindle where it meets the brass piece. Is this correct? The gap is barely big enough to fit a needle through. I am pretty sure my table was made last year. It does have the rounded corners on the plinth.

The "brass piece" is not inside the plinth, which you seem to think. It is the flat, round plate that is screwed into the plinth that surrounds the pulley. It is on top of the plinth, and is fixed by four hex socket screws. "Below the brass piece" simply means applying oil at the bottom of the pulley shaft, which spatially is below the brass plate/piece (think "inside" the brass piece). The problem is, of course, that the space between the brass piece and the pulley is so narrow it's virtually impossible to apply oil without getting some of it on the brass. You definitely do not want to get any oil on the plastic part of the pulley for obvious reasons. That's why I recommend using a needle.

Hopefully, your motor noise will disappear after the lube job. Mine didn't. It's possible that I applied too much oil, but Mike acknowledged that dirt, dust, and drying oil is likely to cause low level noise in the pulley. Let us know how it goes.

Ok, I understand now. My "brass piece" is powder coated black on my table. There is no brass to be seen. They should have referred to this "piece" as the motor cover and that would have saved me alot of confusion. I will use the syringe method as was suggested by actusreus as I cant see any other way to apply oil without making a mess. Thank you actusreus for helping me to understand this better. It was a big help.

Andy

I have found the brass piece that was mentioned in the instructions. It is a brass collar on the shaft that is hidden beneath the pulley. You cannot see it with the pulley installed. I will write out step by step below what I have done to lubricate my VPI motor.

* You will need a syringe with a 23 guage needle or smaller. *

I'm not sure how it is in your state but, where I live they sell syringes at most agricultural stores like tractor supply or southern states. You may also check with veterinary supply clinics. Some people have said syringes are hard to get where they live.

You will also need 40wt. oil for the motor and and an allen wrench to remove the set screws from the pulley.

I used mobil 1 full synthetic 40wt. motor oil. Not 10w-40. Just pure 40wt.

Step by step:

1. Remove belt from pulley.
2. Remove three set screws from the pulley and set aside
3. Remove pulley from shaft and set aside.

Now the brass piece VPI speaks of in the manual is shown.
It is the brass collar on the shaft that sets the height of the pulley. There is no need to remove it or alter it's height. There will be a small gap underneath the brass collar. This is where the needle will slide in.

4. Fill syringe with a very small amount of 40wt. oil.
5. Insert tip of syringe into the gap under the brass collar.
6. dispense a single drop of oil under the brass collar next to the shaft. Try to get the tip of the needle as close to the shaft as possible.
7. Turn the motor on and let it run for a bit to circulate the oil.

* after I applied the single drop of oil and let motor run for a bit, I still had a bit of a ticking sound present. I did add another drop of oil and it solved the problem. My motor must have been really dry. VPI says to use a single drop of oil so, use your own judgement on this one. I assume no responsibility but, it worked in my case. You can also mess up your speed stability if you add to much oil. I wouldn't go more than two drops at the most. I checked my speed stability afterwards and it is still correct.

Now just put your pulley back on and replace the set screws and belt. Make sure you do press the pulley down against the brass collar like it was when you took it off.

That's it. This has eliminated the motor noise that I had previously. Now spin some records and enjoy.

Andy

The motor and pulley are precision parts that are assembled by people who do this for a living. I'm not sure where you go this information, but I think it's a mistake and a big risk to be disassembling precision parts to put a drop of oil on them, which can be done without it. The manual speaks of no dismantling or removing any parts to lubricate the motor. As much as VPI manuals could be written better, I have no doubt they would not instruct the owner to simply "use 1 drop of 40-weight motor oil below the brass piece" if it required removing the pulley and looking for a mysterious brass piece hidden inside. I think it's foolish to do what you did, but I guess it's your equipment and you can do as you please. However, advising others to do it is a disservice to them.