Cyclone motor bearings

[Randy Henry]

Turned on my cyclone today (Woodsucker) and heard an unusual howl. Got a piece of wood, put it against the cyclone and listened, and something in there is obviously worn. That being said, has anyone ever had to replace the bearings in a Leeson motor (2hp)? Going to be a job taking everything down to get to the motor, but figure I'd better get to it before the motor seizes totally up and ruins it.

[David Kumm]

Bearings will wear on the collector motor. The impeller put a lot of stress on them. The motor should be mounted to a plate so it and the impeller can be removed together. The impeller may have a double set screw and be a pain to remove. Dave

[Doug Ladendorf]

I have changed bearings on a 2hp Baldor. If it's single phase you need to be careful when removing the rotor so as not to damage the centrifugal switch. If you haven't done it before it would be helpful to have experienced hands around.

[Jim Andrew]

When I moved my Woodsucker this last winter, had to take the cyclone body down first. The bracket holds the motor and impeller to the wall, and the bolts in the plate between hold the cyclone to the motor assembly. Haven't had any problems with mine yet. Only beef I have with it is, they used too thin a sheet of metal between the cyclone and the plate, as mine had developed a leak between. Should have a reinforcing ring to hold the pieces together tight.

[Randy Henry]

Good news for a change..I took the body down and immediately noticed several of the fins on the impeller had gunk built up on them. I remember sweeping up some floor debris when it was wet, and at the same time, I overfilled the barrel. Since I vent outside, it compounded the problem and some of the fins accumulated the debris, which included wet dog hair. I blew the fins off and turned the impeller by hand, and the bearings feel solid. I turned the machine on briefly and used a stethoscope to listen to the bearings and did not hear nothing, except for the tornado force winds. Going to clean everything up, and check all of the interior bolts for tightness and re-install everything.