if it is an external motor at worst you could put a new one on it

I think the old Kenmores are great machines...

Hey everyone, thanks for all of the feedback, I just saw that I had more posts in this discussion. Thanks so much for the advice Joe, I have a maintenance man at work that said something very similar, he told me to run it for about 30 seconds a couple times a day.

I don't know how to oil the machine and it didn't come with a manual but I bet I can puzzle it out.

I don't know if the machine is a good one yet as I haven't been able to use it yet, but it appears to be a very sturdy work-horse of a machine.

Thanks again everyone!

Jamie,

Look under the bed of the machine on the lip that hangs down. There should be a placard or a stamped area with a model and serial number. The model number will something like this 158-XXXXXXX. It might be three different numbers, a dash, then the rest.
Then go here { http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part...t/user-manuals } and look for that number. There is a good chance Sears will still have .pdf copies for you to download.

As for oiling the machine, if it moves, oil it. Take off the top, could be held on by screws, or springs, open up the face plate and look for unthreaded holes. When you see 'em, oil 'em. Tilt the machine back on it's hinges and do the same. If it moves oil it.
Don't flood it, but make sure you get everything.
If the motor is oilable there will be a small hole right above where the armature shaft would fit into the bushings at the center of each end of the motor. Using a small tube put a couple three drops of oil in each hole.
Then run it.

Joe

Joe, all I got when I did that search was come up with some old manual from a machine much older than the one I need.

I've been on the Sears site two or three times now and I've found two manuals that matched my machines. One I already had, one I had to save one page at a time, but I have it now too. They don't have manuals for all the machines, but they do have quite a few.

Joe

I need one for a Kenmore 12 stitch - I just need the part that tells what the knobs do. It has a knob inside a knob top and bottom and they combine to make different stitches. It drives me crazy. It's probably real simple...