I used the same procedure again to remove, clean, and re-grease the Right Ascension worm block. Some photos:
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- The RA worm block cover, remove 4 corner screws to remove.
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- RA worm block cover coming off
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- RA worm block. Cover the cable hole with tape or paper to avoid losing screws in the mount housing.
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- Removing the RA worm block
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- RA main drive gear, with old grease
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- RA main drive gear, grease cleaned out with toothbrush and cloth
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- RA worm gear, grease cleaned out with toothbrush and cloth
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- Molykote 33 grease, rated for very low temperaturs.
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- Grease evenly applied to main drive gear, filling teeth
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- With worm block reinstalled, remove rubber cap and adjust cam stop and spring plungers
I then ran the mount through several iterations of exercise, and all seems well. Even motion, no stalls, no weird noises.
Finally I did the manual mechanical check for hysteresis on both worm blocks, and no motion detected in either case. I think I’m ready to start polar alignment – just need the couple of days of forecast thunderstorms to pass.