Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

Certainly good advice, I just don’t have the skills or tools to open the actual motor where the spindle and magnet mechanism are, afraid to break it, I could open the housing but removing the board with these thin wires etc. I don’t think will do.Eventually I could locate a skilled tech who could take a look and do some of the advisable maintenance you are mentioningThank you for sharing your experience ..

Have to report adjusting and centering the motor on the PD-444 was extremely easy once you know how to do it. I am stunned by how simplistic yet great engineering this TT offers, I am sure it is not the best TT out there, surpassed by some others but mounting arms and fiddling around with the TT this was really designed for simple operation.

This is one of the best DD turntables and once you will compare it to some others you will understand it. The benefit is its integrated aluminum “plinth”, so you don’t have to think about plinth at all. Start using it and realize this is a High-End turntable with decent motor.
The fact that only a few people on audiogon have PD-444 is something to think about. Read old comment from user cobra213 (if i remember his nickname correctly). 
With the right cartridge on your FR-64s tonearm I’m sure it will be hard to find anything better than Lux PD-444. 
Market value of PD-444 turntable in mint condition is over $4k. 

Luis, As you noted, my finding of the shims under the motor was for the Victor TT101, not for the PD444. I don’t own a PD444. Did you find a similar system for mounting its motor?
As Pindac either said or implied, what you have to do most of the time in order to inspect the bearing and replace the lubricant (which is always a good idea for a turntable more than 40 years old, unless you know it has recently been serviced) is to figure out how to remove the spindle from the bearing well. (Maybe Dave or Chak can instruct you as regards the PD444.) Then you will be able to see what you have there. See if there is a lot of residue from the old original lubricant, and if there is, you can clean it out with a mild solvent; I use photographic lens paper soaked in the solvent, because that type of paper does not leave fragments of itself behind. You definitely do not want the bearing well to get contaminated with any foreign particulate material. So I don’t use a Q-tip or any conventional tissue. For lubricant, there are many opinions. The L07D group to which I belong recommends synthetic motor oil, single-weight; I think it’s 20W Redball. I now use it in all my vintage DD turntables.

Hey Lew, not really, there are 4 screws attaching the motor to the plinth and 1 single washer between the motor and such plinth but the trick to align the motor is to handle the motor from below, you get a better grip and there is some tolerances to wiggle it and adjust it any way you want, very simple system.The spindle removal seems to be challenging, I opened the motor and there is a board but I can't see how to access the spindle, there are some wires going into that area and looks complex to manage and get in there.Per some other member recommendations I am using this oil as multipurpose for everything " ROYAL PURPLE SYNTHETIC" looks to be appropriate.Here are some pictures how the board look, this TT either had almost no use or it was serviced and I am inclined to think it was serviced indeed, it is very clean inside
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e6zkpkdj0jf83mo/AADJGfDYFFKoj5o6m5ZKdZjMa?dl=0