Singer 15-91
I recently was gifted a 15-91. It too was frozen. I learned that the motor is called a potted motor, which has grease wicks to lubricate the bearings. The grease was old and stiff. There was a slight movement when I tried to turn the hand wheel. After removing the hand wheel, I found a nylon like gear around the hand wheel that has springs inside it. The motion I was experiencing was just those springs, as the motor didn't turn. If I had tried to free the machine up by working the hand wheel back and forth, I could have easily damaged the gears!
The motor has grease wicks in it. I had to buy feet to get inches of this wicking. If you or your repair guy needs new wicking, PM me and I can send you some. I have way more than I will ever use.
Don't let anyone try to force the machine to turn using the hand wheel. If you take the hand wheel off, that disengages the gears, so you then try to turn the machine itself. If it turns, the problem is in the motor. It is very important not to damage the motor, as they are hard to find and pricey.
Good luck with it. They are great machines!
Last edited by Joe Ayres; 03-31-2025 at 12:01 PM.