Even drives with bad and physically damaged sectors can often be brought back from the dead so long as track 1 is intact just by using a drop of 3-in-1 under the ground strap to the spindle...Literally one drop of oil on the bearing (which draws in via capillary action) can quiet the noisest old MFM/RLL Seagate for years and add years to it's service life
Actually, zero weight cold oil with a 40 at temp is likely even better for the job -- 3-in-1 stays pretty thin and isn't all that great if the temperature climbs above 180F. While 3000 or so RPM of an MFM drive with a healthy bearing should never get up that high, you get one kind-of burnt with a good solid grind and something like Mobil-1 would probably perform better... though even at the 0W rating I'm not sure how well the capillary action would draw it.Deathshadown, I realise all of this is to an extend a guess but I've kept Mobil-1 (0-40w) in my oil dropper can for years and obviously therefore use that for the odd little bearing lube jobs..., but do you think 3-in-1 might be better for this application?
Thanks!
Thanks for the info on oils, very much appreciated. I was looking at the ST-251-1 and the visible bearing appears to be just a normal sealed ball bearing pressed in; surely there must be an 'upper' bearing inside too, which we can't lubricate?
Not "all". For example. Both the ST-506 and ST-412 predate the ST-225. The OEM manuals of both the ST-506 and ST-412 include, "Recommended orientation is either vertical on either side or horizontal with PCB down. The only prohibited orientation is horizontal with PCB up."It's why all the drive manuals of that era say do NOT run them upside-down, or on their sides!
There were lots of systems that had their disk drives mounted vertically with no problems; only PCB up and vertically on either end were taboo.Not "all". For example. Both the ST-506 and ST-412 predate the ST-225. The OEM manuals of both the ST-506 and ST-412 include, "Recommended orientation is either vertical on either side or horizontal with PCB down. The only prohibited orientation is horizontal with PCB up."
So, there is Seagate indicating that side orientation is okay for those early drives. Personally, it doesn't feel right to me orientating them like that.
Not "all". For example. Both the ST-506 and ST-412 predate the ST-225. The OEM manuals of both the ST-506 and ST-412 include, "Recommended orientation is either vertical on either side or horizontal with PCB down. The only prohibited orientation is horizontal with PCB up."
So, there is Seagate indicating that side orientation is okay for those early drives. Personally, it doesn't feel right to me orientating them like that.
The frictional movement and semi-liquid bearing action will cause the oil to flow directionally out both sides of the bearing. If there's an excess on one side of the bearing it will very quickly drain through to the other side because of this, and then as it hits the seam for the platter be spattered out across the bottom face, fouling an entire surface and possibly damaging the head.Besides, running it for 1/2 an hour is not going to make a really big difference since it isn't doing anything but spinning.
There are no definite answers. The makers of hard drives of this vintage did not intend for the drive to be mechanically serviced. Each make/model of drive will be different. Some may be so well sealed that it will be next to impossible to get lubricant into the spindle bearing assembly. Even if someone (via dismantling) gets direct access to the spindle bearing assembly, what type/spec grease is required? The manufacturer is unlikely to have published that information. If you come up with something that might do the job, how much needs to added, because too much can cause overheating.So then, how do you keep the lube from coating the platters, if the lube gets sucked up from the bottom, wouldn't it stand to be that the lube would go through a seem anyway? Also, if they are sealed, shouldn't the seems be sealed too? Now on my 412, it's making that same mwaaaskreee sound on spin up when cold, yet reports no bad sectors or troubles,