Swapping the springs out was the first job, it a straightforward job, it’s pretty much a like for like swap and took less that fifteen minutes. You’ll need a socket set, you could use an adjustable spanner, I wouldn’t use pliers as it may risk damaging the nuts.
The only hassle is getting the tension right when reassembling it. There might be some very clever techniques that help with this, but I found common sense and trial and error worked for me. Oh and obviously a spirit level.
It requires the sub and outer platters to be attached along with the tonearm, otherwise the weight distribution will be wrong. Then it requires patience to get it level.
First, I got the sub chassis as ‘bouncy’ (so the nuts were only just on the bolt thread) as I could then gradually levelled it out. The more you screw the nut on the tighter the spring gets and the higher that raises that part of the chassis. That meant losing some of the initial bounce and eventually I found a compromise that I was comfortable with. Then it was about getting the right clearance (3mm) on the SME TD 160/3009 mounting plate. I did use a ‘rig’ to suspend the deck whilst doing this, nothing complicated just two large pieces of wood to sit the plinth on so that I had access to the spring adjusters.
Soundproofing Foam.
While the chassis was in pieces, I took the opportunity to cover both with a sound deadening foam. I chose one with a 3mm thickness that was self-adhesive. I wasn’t anything fancy, just a bog standard, off the shelf product I bought on amazon. It was easy to cut it into place using the chassis as a template when some fancy cutting was required. You’ll need a sharp knife, or a scalpel and a pair of scissors for that. Don’t forget to cut holes for the springs – like I did!
Restoring the Tired Motor.
Finally, the motor. I checked that it worked before starting the project by running it for a few hours and carefully adding oil to the spindle in the hope that it would wick down into the bearing. To be honest this was the part of the project that bothered me the most as the motor is critical to its success or failure. However good the mods, if the motor was crap the whole project would fail.
The motor wasn’t great, it had the classic tap, tap tap as it spun. Lubricating it made a slight difference but in that state, it wasn’t useable, so the choice was to fix it or replace it. As finding a replacement was prohibitively expensive, I gambled on an Adjustable Motor Thrust Bearing that I bought on eBay. Not one that uses a ball bearing because getting it dead centre is critical. If not, it would produce a lateral thrust that overtime would cause more damage. I wasn’t confident I could be that accurate and opted for a flat grubscrew type.
I sanded (600 grit wet and dry) the two contact surfaces prior to using superglue to stick them together. Next day I sealed the outer edges with more superglue just to be certain. Then I spun up the motor, added a dab of oil to the flat of the grub screw and tightened it up. Not to tight - it’s really, really easy to overtighten and needs a gentle touch - just enough to get the spindle sitting in the oil, on the grub screw.
There was a slight resistance and the tap, tap disappeared. The difference was incredible, much to my relief I couldn’t hear the motor at all. The fix was a total success. Job done. And it’s such an easy fix, it took less than 15 minutes.
The platter was good to go. The next job was repurposing the faceplate.
Until then enjoy your vinyl.
Other blogs in this series.
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 – An impulse Purchase
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 – Veneering the Plinth
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 – Soundproofing the Platter and Sub-platter
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 – Repurposing the faceplate
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 - The Finished Turntable