Loved the nod to the Beach Boys!

Thank you for this advice. I have a 401 that is super loud and whiny. When I received the machine the 'upper motor bearing' section was full of sunflower seed hulls! I cleaned it out as best I could, even removing the motor and taking it apart to clean it, but assumed the loudness was due to any debris that I may have missed. I am definitely going to give this idea a try!

Thankyou so much for the pics and info Cari and Joe. I have a 401a and got it lubed and working but it's still very noisy and I wasn't sure if that was just the way they were or not. I will go back and give it some more attention using my new info. I do most of my fancy stitches with my Bernina 730 record but I undrerstand if you break a plastic gear it's all over! I was keeping the 401a for backup but wasn't thrilled with using it because it was noisy and not as smooth. I will take another crack at it, thanks again the pics were essential for me!!