My Goodwill 201 is stuck
 

The gears on my 201 are really STUCK. I took the cover off the potted motor and it spins. I need the miracle stuff to unstick the gears. HELP!

SewClassic carries the liquid and grease forms of Triflow.

AZKAT,

Which gears?

If the motor turns, then does the main shaft turn? Is is locked up solid, or will it rock back and forth?
Did you check for thread or debris under the bobbin hook and that area?
Did you check the TWO gears under the covers on the bottom of the machine, and the one at the top in the pillar that drives the vertical shaft. They need grease, not oil by the way.

Did you check for thread binding the machine up? Been there done that more than I care to contemplate.

Lots of things to look for. It could also be a lack of oil as well.

Joe

I had something similar happen on a 15-91 with the potted motor. The machine seized up on me though the motor worked properly once disengaged. I reoiled or retriflowed and examined the entire machine for obstructions. No obstructions found, I removed the handwheel to get a piece of leather and vise grips on the shaft. I then carefully rocked the shaft back forth to unseize which worked. Too much pressure on the vise grips and a part could break. I believe my problem came from a seized part under the faceplate. Good Luck

Jon

I don't have pics so let me try to explain. the gears by the hand wheel move. It rocks back and forth but not much. I took the face plate off and it appears that the gear that is up in the top (the one I can't get to) is stuck. I did check for thread (made that stupid mistake with my FW). I tried to oil that part but I can't get to it. Do you think the triflow oil is better than singer?

I've never used Triflow but I hear it's great and better than oil. I'd use what available which is SM oil for me and keep a big jug around for everything. I'd spray the part with lubricant if I couldn't reach it with oil but most likely there's a hole in the casting that oil will reach it from.

The gear that is mounted to the hand wheel is supposed to move. It is cushioned by a spring to keep the fiber gear from being broken.
Once the hand wheel is off the machine, does the main shaft move at all?

If it does, then you work away from it checking each and every thing that is attached to it till you find the part that is not moving.

Tri-Flow is a very good penetrating oil. Better than regular sewing machine oil. I've seen the difference with it.

Check the needle bar, will it move up and down? If free it should wiggle a wee tiny bit as you try to move it.

If you determine the top end is moving then move to the bobbin case and drive gears. It doesn't take much thread under the case to jam up one of these machines. And since the 201 uses direct gear drives, one jammed part will stop the whole thing up.

Joe

Joe

Absolutely!

You might try holding a hair dryer on the area. It won't hurt the machine. Wiggle the part gently after warming.

Since you are talking Singer 201, I strongly advise you not to take the bobbin assembly ring off. It's the top ring on the area that holds the bobbin. It's a real bear to get back on. On the other hand, if there is dirt or thread in there and you can't get it out any other way...

Vacuum, do not blow air into it as that will drive dirt deeper.

Try those things first. There are other things to do if those don't work.

If you find that you do need to remove the bobbin assembly ring, I was able to do this successfully just this week by following Rain's tutorials where he clearly shows the tools to use and how to disassemble and then reassemble this area. His blog is at http://vssmb.blogspot.com. VintageMotif wrote about his blog back in August 2012 and I'm so glad she did since I've found his site to be very helpful. Just look on the right hand side under "labels" and you'll find the link to the 201-2 tutorials.