I got an old Channel Master 10' dish about a year back, and it had an old Saginaw actuator on it. Fast forward to now, and it has started to make some noise, so, being the DIY guy I am, decided to take er apart and grease er up.
Having consulted with the finest minds in satellitedom (phlatwound and linuxman) on the phone, we all decided that due to the design of the arm, there would be no taking it completely apart due to the design , the acme nut is peened in place and would have to be cut out and re peened back in place, or welded, or whatever, far beyond the capabilities of my home shop. So what I decided to do is flood it with oil, work it in and out, and hope for the best. Here it is on the bench:
Removed the arm from the motor, one bolt and it came right off. Right away, easy to see where the noise was coming from:
Like I said, after looking at it I knew there was going to be no further disassembly. So I did the only thing I knew to do, Drill a hole in the outer tube and oil 'er up. if you do this be CAREFUL and make SURE you extend the actuator all the way out so you dont drill BOTH tubes!
First in, 90 weight gear oil. Hey, its what I had! After a bit of sloshing that around, what poured out of the hole looked like chocolate milk, so I knew I had a rust problem in there. So after the gear oil came the synthetic motor oil, three batches, slosh it around and dump it out, running the tubes in and out by hand while doing each batch. Each time got a little easier. Last time, I put about 8 oz in it, turned it upright in my oil drain pan and let it drain overnight:
After that I drained it out, got my can of spray white grease, stuck the tube in the hole, and just HOSED it down inside, working the tube in and out as I went. Put a little red hi temp grease on the mating surfaces where the motor meets the tube. Put 'er back together and back on the dish. Sealed the hole thusly, quick and dirty:
It works BETTER, still not like new, but better. Still having an issue with the old positioner box too, sometimes when ya push the button nothing happens , but I reversed the motor wires on the box and it works. Go figure. But seeing how its an old potentiometer equipped actuator, new mover boxes are few and far between. Anyway, maybe someone can use what i did to help their own old arm live just a little while longer.
Having consulted with the finest minds in satellitedom (phlatwound and linuxman) on the phone, we all decided that due to the design of the arm, there would be no taking it completely apart due to the design , the acme nut is peened in place and would have to be cut out and re peened back in place, or welded, or whatever, far beyond the capabilities of my home shop. So what I decided to do is flood it with oil, work it in and out, and hope for the best. Here it is on the bench:
Removed the arm from the motor, one bolt and it came right off. Right away, easy to see where the noise was coming from:
Like I said, after looking at it I knew there was going to be no further disassembly. So I did the only thing I knew to do, Drill a hole in the outer tube and oil 'er up. if you do this be CAREFUL and make SURE you extend the actuator all the way out so you dont drill BOTH tubes!
First in, 90 weight gear oil. Hey, its what I had! After a bit of sloshing that around, what poured out of the hole looked like chocolate milk, so I knew I had a rust problem in there. So after the gear oil came the synthetic motor oil, three batches, slosh it around and dump it out, running the tubes in and out by hand while doing each batch. Each time got a little easier. Last time, I put about 8 oz in it, turned it upright in my oil drain pan and let it drain overnight:
After that I drained it out, got my can of spray white grease, stuck the tube in the hole, and just HOSED it down inside, working the tube in and out as I went. Put a little red hi temp grease on the mating surfaces where the motor meets the tube. Put 'er back together and back on the dish. Sealed the hole thusly, quick and dirty:
It works BETTER, still not like new, but better. Still having an issue with the old positioner box too, sometimes when ya push the button nothing happens , but I reversed the motor wires on the box and it works. Go figure. But seeing how its an old potentiometer equipped actuator, new mover boxes are few and far between. Anyway, maybe someone can use what i did to help their own old arm live just a little while longer.
great pics too 
