Replacing a actuator motor

[Houston Rockets]

Hello my Venture 36" actuator is starting to turn slow when it has a heavy load on it, I have tried a couple of different IRD's and it is the same..
I am thinking the motor in the actuator is getting weak... My question is how hard is it to replace a Venture 36" actuator motor?

 

[telstar_1]

Probably not a bad motor if still running. The jack may need lubing and/or cleaning. One thing to try might be to pull the motor off the jack and see how it runs on its own, vs. when driving the jack.

 

[Houston Rockets]

Probably not a bad motor if still running. The jack may need lubing and/or cleaning. One thing to try might be to pull the motor off the jack and see how it runs on its own, vs. when driving the jack.

It has the factory boot on it... it only operates slow when a load in on the actuator, like coming up from lower satellites to the higher ones... it is NOT MAKING any noise and it about 10 year old...To me all signs point to a weak motor..going down hill it moves fine only up hill

 

[arlo]

Have the skills to remove the motor and tear it down?
They ain't too hard to do. Makes for a good time to check if the actuator tube is gooked up.
Weak could be that the brushes are toast, armature bearings are dry and the commutator needs a good Scotchbriting and the gearbox grease cleaned and repacked. I have a superrap-jack on it's 10th life.

 

[Houston Rockets]

Have the skills to remove the motor and tear it down?
They ain't too hard to do. Makes for a good time to check if the actuator tube is gooked up.
Weak could be that the brushes are toast, armature bearings are dry and the commutator needs a good Scotchbriting and the gearbox grease cleaned and repacked. I have a superrap-jack on it's 10th life.

Ok

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[telstar_1]

I never repaired actuators as a dealer. They were throwaway, regardless of what went bad. I was just always trying to find the best I could to replace with for longevity & durability, and none were perfect. On some of the Superjacks the rubber wiper seal where the tube runs in & out would go bad in the sun in 1 year and then water went down them and washed out grease & caused corrosion and tube looseness.

 

[Houston Rockets]

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...

 

[arlo]

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...

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 answer but

 

[Houston Rockets]

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

 

[arlo]

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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[Houston Rockets]

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.

Well I greased it up with some STP grease and I will see how it does... hopefully that will fix it