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Houston Rockets said:

I asked has anyone never just replaced the motor, I got every answer but that..... But on the other hand I did do what someone asked and I went out there and remove the boot on it and greased it up real good hopefully that will fix the problem...

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arlo said:

Well here's your answer. Yeah. I've done it more than once. Getting a new motor is not as simple as removing the old and slapping on the new. Do you realize that?
You would most likely want to put your dish at it's lowest position where the lower limit switch trips.
Then compare the replacement and verify that the switches in it are adjusted the same.
Hopefully it would come with an instruction sheet showing you how to adjust both lower and upper limits.
Set them identically to the old motor. It might even be a situation where you would need to drive the motor/gearbox to it's lower limit manually.
A 12 volt battery, car battery charger, even a cordless power tool battery with wires hooked to it can be used to run it.
Hook it up so that it turns in the right direction until the lower limit switch trips and it shuts off.
The rest.....you've already gotten your feet wet doing that.
...me and my

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arlo said:

Oh. And as telstar mentioned. Yeah it was a common thing to swap out actuators due to just that fact.
That super jack I have has has an accordion boot on it. And is a wise investment for sure.
A good spray of silicone lube on the inside ribs. A good coating of Superlube grease on the extension tube.
Then a few zippy ties on the boot ends. An occasional spray of silicone on the outside of the boot to keep weather and UV at bay. Of course make sure the weep holes on he ribs face the ground. Common sense.
It probably has contributed to why mine has lasted as long as it has.

Now. If you have disposable income. A Von Weise or Venture would be a good pick. I've literally a box of old collected actuator tubes here and the motors in another box.
Some tubes are a bear to teardown. Designed to be disposable by design. Needing a grinder just to get into them and a welder to seal them back up.

What's a Venture 36" cost? I like refurbing 'stuff'. The superjack, torn down. Showed it needed brushes. A magnet had rust jacked from its home. The end bearing from the tube was toast. The plastic trapezoidal threaded plug that extends the tube was a touch worn and loose. The tube grease was gooked up from rain contamination.
Six bucks for a pair of roller bearings (I doubled them up....lost 12mm of travel)
The same for 6 copper impregnated motor brushes.
A tube of Superlube grease from NAPA....a shocker at over 20 bucks. But enough left for a ton of other projects.
Cross slotted the plastic threaded plug a few threads into it and drilled, tapped for a screw to snug the threads up a touch. You know. Those dies in a tap 'n die set that are slotted for some reason or another.
And some automotive urethane adhesive for the magnets. Epoxy is a no-go. Found that out the hard way.
A few hours tearing it all down and putting it back together. Some sexy Rustoleum Hammer Finish paint.

All winter long change satellites at -20 or more below. No sweat (literally). No "Motor Stall", "Sensor" errors.
Even a brand new actuator couldn't hack that. But (can't edit that one out) you need a viable candidate first.
"P.M." Preventative Maintenance. Or run 'em 'till they puke. Kind of like the Ford out there.

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