clock radios - fixing noisy clocks?

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by nasadowsk

What I've done, and it worked, is fill a small container, able to withstand heat, with light oil. Like the lightest 3 in 1, or Marvel mystery (which seems lighter). Then, drop the rotor into it, and heat the container up, carefully. You want to get it up to a decent temp without setting it on fire! We don't need to be much above 160 or 180 or so. Now, you keep it at that temp for a while, like 1/2 an hour. You'll see air bubbles coming out of the rotor by the gear - as it heats up, the air inside expands and pushes out. You can prod it to bring the gear near the surface, and that helps - for now.

Now, make sure the gear is good and under oil, and turn off the heat. Let it stand an hour or two to cool to room temp totally. Or put it in the fridge

Once it's at cooled down temperature, take the rotor out of the oil, wipe the excess off the outside, and put it into the clock. You might want to run it in a few positions to really get the new oil on everything. It should be a lot quieter now, almost silent.

I just tried this suggestion last night on a Zenith clock radio... hey it worked really good!

I placed the little motor in a shot glass, filled it with 3 in 1, placed a couple of toothpicks in a small pot, then sat the shot glass on the tooth picks. Then I filled the pot with water... enough to raise the water line about 1/2 way up the shot glass. Turn low heat on the stove top, and within 10-15 minutes, I started getting the little bubbles. Let it continue to heat for another 5 to 10 minutes, then shut off the heat.

Took out the shot glass and placed it in the kitchen window (there was a cool breeze coming in) and came back and hour later to clean it off and then put it all back together.

That clock used to drive me crazy, so I never ran it. Now, i can barely hear it at all unless I get real close to it!