Lubing sheaves on Backyard Buddy

[Quickstep192]

My Backyard Buddy makes a screeching sound going up and down. After reading another account about a BYB that had a cable jump off a sheave, I verified that my cables are on the sheaves.

But, I can’t see a way to get to the shaft to lube them.

Are there any BYB owners out there who can guide me?

 

[matt_i]

Don't know 100% of the details of your machine but possibly this can help. If you can get this style of squeeze bottle and fill it with any ATF, you can "overlube" any interface between stationary and rotating to the point of dripping off, ideally you'd have catchment (rags, cardboard, PIG mats). The ATF is a lightweight hydraulic oil in its basic form and will eventually run to the place it needs to be and solve any problem like that. A "better" machine design would use rolling element bearings or bronze plain bearings which don't "squeak" or "squeal" except in extreme circumstances of damage.

 

[finn]

A light grease might be best. A needle fitting on your grease gun may work. Otherwise, figure out how to brace the lift so the pulleys are unloaded, (may be as dimple as having the lift carriage be resting on the safety locks), then remove the pulleys one at a time and drill and tap for a zerk.

 

[matt_i]

Like the idea of a zerk but the other guy had a shaft snap/twist/fatigue to full cross section failure. I could not see it in enough detail to make a better guess as to why. However, drill and cross drill reduce cross section especially at the center of the span where bending stress is peak. Also critical to carefully deburr the cross-drill where it enters the circumference to avoid creating draggy burrs.