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The best oil to use to lube a turntables spindle .

I just sold a turntable on Audiogon to a person who apparently used atf to lubricate the spindle bearing and the motor spindle. He claims that the motor is making noise now. {It was quiet when I shipped it to him}. I don't think atf should be used to lubricate turntable bearings. I believe it probably seeped into the motor and is causing the noise. I would think light machine oil would be best. The table in question is a Connoisseur bd102 belt drive. Any input would be helpful. Thanks.
jimel84
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I believe that in this situation there should be nothing done or just simply letting know that with your own TT you "intercourse" the way you want it and don't complain if anything goes wrong to the seller. Even authorised dealers will most-likely refuse to help in this situation.
gumbydammit
186 posts
 
ATF will leak in situations where it is not designed to be used. Even when replacing oil nearly as thin, ATF will seep past seals where oil will not.
twl
3,251 posts
 
Most mfrs. have a specific oil that they supply/recommend for their bearings. The requirements vary for the bearings used. A "sloppy" bearing will need a higher viscosity oil to take up the "slop", and close tolerance bearings will need a thinner oil to flow in the very small surface gap. There is no right answer unless you know the turntable/bearing in question.
bohemian7's avatar
bohemian7
11 posts
 
I beleive that VPI recommends Slick 50 for their turntables.
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