Christine,

Is it a Singer Motor? If so and it's a replacement, it could be made differently. Could you post a pic of the motor? If not, leave the felt in there and oil it.

Joe

Heres the motor

That is as standard a Singer motor as I've seen. I'd leave the felt and pump it full of Singer motor lube.

The heat from the motor is what causes the lube to flow. I've never seen felt in there but if it's in as tight as you say, I'd be leery of taking it out.

Joe

I'm confused. The 201 has a potted motor... that doesn't look like a potted motor. That's why I assumed the 66 motor was the patient.

K,.. here's what I can find in my parts books for external motors:

bz3, bz7 and bz8 motors: grease cup wick singer pn 195539
pg3, pg7, pg8, ph3, ph7, ph8 motors: (looks like a 201 potted motor) spn: 193525 (wick and spring) 193526 wick only
bt7, bt8, bt13: spn: 190074
by20-3 by20-7: couldn't see a grease cup or tube on the diagram.
br3s, br7s, br8s motors: spn: 194490
br3, br7 and br8: spn 194490
ba3: couldn't see a grease cup or tube on the diagram.
3-32v, 3-110v, 3-120v and 3-125v (fw 221 machines): spn 194097 - wick (felt)

The felt is out and the motor is greased. I'm certain the felt didn't belong in there. I've never ever seen felt in grease ports before. I made a tiny corkscrew out of a quilting pin and took it out bit by bit.

plugged it in and it's happy! Can't wait to sew a few seams, so off I go....

My motor says BA 3-8 and underneath that it says S.S. AU52-17-1

Motor was manufactured in Elizabethport, NJ

The machine was made in the UK, and is a 201 with the light on the back of the machine instead of the front. Someone put a 110 volt motor on it so it could be used in the USA.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]353205[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]353206[/ATTACH]

Then it gets weirder and weirder.

The chart says BA 3-8 Part # 102393-005 is for the model 15 (except 15-91), 66, 99, 128, 223, 237, 239, 293
I show PH8 for the 201-2 and 1200 series

The BA3-8 falls under the BA3 series. The parts diagram doesn't show grease wicks or springs, but in the "Procedure for inspecting motor" Step #7 of the "At the repair bench" section suggests checking the Lubricating wicks and springs.

Only only risk I can see with removing the wicks on a motor that's supposed to have them is too much of the grease "heating up" and running into the bearing and its surrounding area. If memory serves, often it doesn't so use your own judgement, this shouldn't be a problem.

I guess the side effect of that would be running out of grease in the cups sooner.

Thank you for looking it up! Thank you for the info. The felt was all the way to the top of the ports, only a miniscule amount of grease would fit on top of the felt. And not a bit of grease was in it, so I'm thinking this machine didn't get much use. My machine certainly is weird! :D I don't think grease ports (tiny little tubes) are supposed to have felt in them. It seemed as if the felt was in pieces, not all one piece or it would have come out easier.

There is a clue in the section called "at the repair bench". It says check the wicks "and springs", which tells me the motor they are talking about is one with grease cups where you can remove the springs and wick.

Only the 201-2 has the potted motor. There were several different versions of the 201 just like the other Singers. I would almost bet that was a machine made for the foreign market and someone retro fitted it with a domestic Singer motor when it was brought here.

The motor is greased so that's what's important.

Joe

From what I've been able to determine, my machine is a 201-3. I wanted a 201 with the light in the back so I could avoid the 201 tattoo. I have a slight brain injury so reaching under the light, if in the front, would be a problem for me... I can focus on just a few things at one time.

I'm happy with the machine! It's humming so quietly as it sews. I can't find a manual for a 201-3 online anywhere though. Don't really need one really...