Date:         Tue, 14 Jun 2016 12:02:03 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: lube rear heater assembly
Comments: To: Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <CAN483vcLryCBoNb=2oNoEN0U_AW1LJgbk0X6=Z0oaN1UmsvyPQ@mail.g
              mail.com>
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At 09:22 AM 6/13/2016, Mike South wrote:
>Short version:  I have it out of the van, pre-install.  I am going to put
>lubrication on the ends of the axles that you can see in the pictures.  I
>would like list input on this plan.
>
>Here's the result of my research on this:
>
>I found descriptions in the archives of how to take it apart (this is for
>the front one, I'm guessing you could adapt or use as-is for the back):
>
>http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind1201C&L=vanagon&P=R1451
>
>This is more than I want to get into, unless it's my only hope.

Bearing on the commutator end is easy to reach and oil.  Bearing on
the other end may be marginally accessible by dripping a bit of oil
through the side of the blower wheel -- oiling the visible end of the
shaft will do nothing.  Like the front blower, the commutator-end
bearing is exposed to the airstream and takes more of a beating.  I
have had good luck with the Zoom oil.

The right way to really re-oil those bearings is to cook them in 180F
oil for half an hour or so to soak the new oil into the pores of the
sintered bearing, but that gets elaborate.

I recently took my heater box out after several years of spraying oil
through the "Mullendore port" to stop the bearing squeaking -- the
oil had made a nasty mess of the commutator, so the more precise your
aim the better.  Regardless, it's a band-aid.


>The fan that I bought turns with little effort but it does not keep
>spinning if I am not pushing on it.

That's entirely normal.

Yours,
David