re grease a cg5 gt mount

[red dwalf]

hi all,

i`m thinking of cleaning the old grease out of the mount head and re greasing it with a product called "superlube"

i`ve been told this will help when slewing at slow speeds and is better than the original stuff,

does anyone know where i can by a tube of this stuff from and is one make better than another ?

[david o]

Hi red dwalf,

Assuming that the internal gubbins of your CG-5 GT are the same as on my non-goto, a word of warning for when you do the AstronomyBoy routine on it. Whilst you're adjusting the meshing of the worm gears on the Dec axis, it is very easy to strip out the threads of the holes in the castings that the worm assemblies mount onto. (I know from experience:o) The repeated tightening and slackening needed whilst adjusting the set screw is what does it - that and the monkey metal the casings are made from.

The Dec. worm assembly retaining screws are all M-5, at least on mine.

To replace the two horizontal hex screws:-

A shaft length of 3~4cm seems about right, passing through the whole length of the threaded hole and out the other side, spreading the torque across all the available thread.

It allows placement of a washer under the head - a good idea seeing as how soft the casting is (mine was marked after only a few slackenings and retightenings during adjustment).

It also permits the use of a washer and nut on the inside of the housing - there's lots of space and nothing to foul in there - if you have already managed to strip the threads to any degree.

And the two vertical hex screws:-

A shaft of 2cm is all that there is room for without fouling the worm mounting shaft.

Sufficient length to place a washer at either end and a nut at the bottom to hold things together.

Not sure how the drive units change those tolerances.

Good luck with the strip/rebuild.

[red dwalf]

many thanks for the replay David o,

although you`ve put me off a bit now as i was nerves to start with

that is the web site instructions i`m going to follow,

did you notice much improvement when you completed your re-grease ?

[david o]

red dwalf,

I didn't do the full job on it, I was just tinkering/bodging to remove some slop in the manual Dec drive.

Don't be put off though, it all seems straightforward and the AstronomyBoy guide does point out where you need to be careful.

[m.tweedy]

I bought a tube super lube and still have a fair bit left. If you go ahead PM me your address and I will send you some free gratis.

I did the warp conversion on my lxd55 mount and he suggested to improve consistancy add a small drop of pure synthetic oil. I did this and it does thin it slightly and improves it. Very good stuff but expensive.

[gary1968]

I did my CG5GT, I used Food Safe Silicone grease. Guiding was better after I done it, but I did only do the dec axis as the ra was working fine before. I believe if it aint broke dont fix it!

As for the screw hole problem, I never had any bother with that, although I was made aware of the problem by someone on here before I did the job, sorry cant remeber who. Just remember that when you are adjusting the worm, you are not torquing down a cylinder head or something like that, so just 'nip' them up while doing the adjustment and once happy give it further wee 'nip'. These little screws dont have to work hard to do their job so they dont have to be really tight.

Dont be affraid to do it. Just follow the instruction by Astronomy Boy and take your time, it is worth it.

Gary

[david o]

That was me Gary.

Glad the strip-down / rebuild went OK.

[robindurant]

Hi

Just searched this CG5GT subject and found this string.

Has anyone got any pictures of the strip down of the mount to re grease it or any details step by step. I am nervous of stripping the mount but mine does need a service.

Robin

[david o]

Hi Robin,

There's a CG5 strip down guide, with photos, over on the AstronomyBoy website.

Take note of my first post above, but don't be nervous - it's all straightforward and the guide does point out where you need to be careful.

HTH

[Astro_Baby]

The superlube grease is available from RS components in the UK. They are a solid company to deal with with good service.

[darkly]

The superlube grease is available from RS components in the UK. They are a solid company to deal with with good service.

Yes, they (RS) are good, however, their main business is supplying industry, most large companies have a list of preferred suppliers which usually includes RS.

What this means is that they are very very expensive compared to other outlets.

Might be worth shopping around a bit, most of the companies I've worked for tend to have RS as a preferred supplier (their catalogues are pretty good (not the on-line one though)) but if they can they use smaller local suppliers - the cost savings are well worth the time.

[MG1]

I'm not sure RS are that expensive, I've just ordered all the bearings for my eq6 from them and they were cheaper than simply bearings and others I found online....also free delivery.

Don't know what their prices are like for grease though.....

[darkly]

Fair enough, maybe not everything, but we often do use the catalogue to identify an item as we can e-mail the part number from a remote location, the component can then be easily sourced elsewhere for <£££s

It's been like that for a good few years now.

They are more reasonable when buying in bulk.