Skywatcher EQ2 Dismantling and cleaning

I decided that I wanted to improve the motion of my Skywatcher EQ2 mount so I got to work disassembling it which at first looked quite daunting but was actually a piece of cake just take it a step at a time and remember where all the pieces go :)

I soon had it all dismantled and sitting in a bucket of degreaser ( I used Gunk as I already had some) and allowed it to work while I took the dogs for a walk.

When I came back I scrubbed all the parts with a tooth brush to get all the rubbish factory grease off just a word of warning I really suggest you do this outside this stuff is sticky and will get everywhere if you are not careful you have been warned. I also suggest doing this a couple of times i.e leave in bucket 30 min scrub then spray on some fresh degreaser leave for 30 min then scrub again then wipe the parts with paper towels to get the last residues off then clean off the gunk with fresh water make sure all parts are nice and dry before reassembly.

Old Plastic bearings

I made some Teflon bearings from the 0.5mm Teflon I had left over from the Focuser Mod I measured the old bearings and cut out multiple rings out of Teflon to match the thickness of the old bearing these were then installed where the original bearings were.



Now the fun part reassembling just do what you did to disassemble in the opposite way (so what ever you removed last put back on first and so on) make sure all the parts are dry the give all the internals a generous coating of a grease of your choice during assembly.


I have heard many different theories about which grease is best depending on the conditions, temperatures, dampness and so on and many people seem to choose white lithium grease and others choose something else. Confused I decided to go it alone and chose some Teflon bike grease I got it from halfords and it works brilliantly! My logic, if its good enough for moving bike parts I'm sure its good enough for my mount. We will see in a few months time whether its still up to the job or not :)

Location on Bearing

Location on Bearing 

These 2 images show the location of the visible bearings, there is one more that is hidden inside the other setting circle. these are the new Teflon bearings with Teflon grease! super slippery :)

And finally the finished article :) The mount is now a hell of alot smoother and easier to use, the slow motion controls are incredible smooth and tiny adjustments can be made easily this mod was great fun to do as I got to see the inner workings of the mount and I just love taking things apart and putting them back together :)

If you want to do this to your own scope mount but not sure how or just want some specific instructions leave a comment and i will try my best to help you out 

HK

Last updated 12/11/12