Hey y'all!
the bearings on my EVT 4000e hub motor are making a mighty noise (squeak, squeak, squeak!) and the rear wheel is getting very hard to turn. I believe this is limiting my range and causing the hub motor to draw more amps to overcome the increased friction.
Has anybody out there replaced the bearings on a hub motor before? Any advice?
I read Reikiman's EVT hub motor take-apart instructions and I've traded email with Jenn who had her EVT hub motor bearings replaced, but I would like to get advice from someone who has actually done the job. So far, it looks like I need a gear puller to open up the hub motor to access the bearings. Jenn also mentioned something about a press for putting the new bearings in place.
Is this something that a motorcycle/scooter shop could do?
Can I get higher-quality/beefier replacement bearings to avoid this problem in future?
Well, I finally got around to answering my own question (with some advice from reikiman and Patrick). First, I removed the rear brake caliper and determined that the squeal was not caused by brake drag. Then I pulled off the EVT hub motor and opened it up following reikiman's directions. I checked the bearings and they seems to turn freely. The only other point of contact in the motor is the brushes and contacts. Here is a picture of the contacts inside the motor:
Anybody know if this looks normal? I noticed a bit of discoloration (at the upper right in this image). Not sure if this means anything.
Any brushed motor experts out there have any ideas on what might cause this motor to have an abnormal amount of friction?
-Crusher300
Silver EVT 4000e (60 volt) San Mateo, CA