Description
Repair White Westinghouse AH064J7T3 5,900 BTU air conditioner, part 2; fan motor teardown.
The fan motor has very worn bearings; the bearings are worn to the point of having enough play such that the rotor will contact the stator during operation, resulting in the malfunction. There's very little wear on the shaft; all the rooting seems to have taken place on the bearing itself. This is ultimately due to lack of lubrication, perhaps also a combination of an out of balance fan blade. Only the outside blade side of the motor is worn; the indoor portion is relatively normal.
A new bearing could be machined, but this is out of reach financially at this time. The motor will be set aside as a future project or parts for another day. In the meanwhile, there's a fan collector that has a spare motor I can use.