Originally Posted by
Mizkaki
Nancy,
I hope that this information helps. Starting in about 1972 Husqvarna machines were advertised to be "self oiling". They did this by putting sintered bearings in their machines. These bearing were oil impregnated. The idea was the heat generated by the shaft turning in the bearing would draw oil up from the pores of sintered steel bushings/ bearings and bring it to the surface. The reality was that many machines sit, unused. Viking learned that these machines would dry up & get stuck from non-use. And if someone did oil these bearings with WD40 or the likes they probably sealed the pores in the sintered bearings, and they would no longer will absorb or dispense lubrication possibly ruining the machine.
On another note, by now the OLD sintered bearings need some help. They probably have no oil left in them and Husqvarna did not provide any outside route to get oil in (i.e. oil holes). So oil with penetrating abilities is needed i.e. Tri-flow. If these bearing have become dry then it is even harder to lube them. A gentle application of heat from a hair dryer works well to open the pores of the bearing so that Tri-flow will be drawn in.
There is no product that Viking used that caused these or other machines to seize, it was and continues to be the sintered bearings.
Cathy
Cathy, thank you for clearing up the Viking "self oiling" feature! I have one vintage Viking that, according to the original owner, is a late 1960's machine. Other than what I have read about the bad name Viking got for their 'self-oiling' feature that ruined a lot of machines - I know nothing about Vikings! I was told there were service repair people that used the same technique when they got machines in for repair - now I highly doubt that was true? It sounds like the 'bearing' was something unique with the self-oiling machines? I was also told that the self-oiling hardened and gummed up a lot of machines. I think that statement could be somewhat true due to the oil hardening from non-use? Your thoughts? I have stayed away from vintage Vikings because of the little I 'thought' I knew.
Nancy