It sounds like the motor had bushings instead of bearings. The problem is the job the motor has to do. It is always in a moist environment which promotes corrosion on both the shaft and the bushings. What you did with the drill is spin the shaft and the parts of rust and junk that built up between the shaft and bushing worked like sand paper. One problem is that it really does increase the intended clearance between the two.
I have done the same thing before as a short term fix. Don't be disappointed if it locks up again. That is a warning sign that the motor is on it's way out. The oil may have helped flush some of the junk out of the area. But those motors don't run all the time and sitting still will cause the same problem again. And with a seemingly newer surface it will corrode again. It was a good solution for the problem though. Vacuum cleaners often lock up the same way. ----- Original Message ----- From: RJ To: Handyman Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2007 5:10 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Electric motor Today a neighbor lady called and said the motor for the fan on her dehumidifier wasn't working and asked if I would take a look at it. Now that is some thing to ask a blind guy. But I did go down and tore the unit apart and found the motor is a throw away, no way to get at the bearing. I sprayed W D 40 over the motor, figuring I couldn't hurt the motor. any worse than it was. Sure wasn't turning the way it was, for the bearings and shaft were froze. Took the fan off the shaft and put my 1/2 inch electric drill on it. The shaft began to turn, and I had her drop some penetrating oil on the shaft. After a few minutes and a few more drops of the oil the shaft began to freely turn. Put the fan back on the shaft and it spin like a new one. Put every thing back together and the dehumidifier was working like a charm. Than she told me, her gas fire place wasn't working. This was a little more tricky, seeing I never felt around one of these. Tore the thing apart and cleaned up the electric points and moved a few wires around. Don't have the slightest ideal what I did, but it is also working like a charm. Guess now and than even a blind squirrel finds a acorn. RJ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
