Thanks Stefan. If you don't want to remove the bearing housing from the plinth then a small magnetic screwdriver can be used to remove the bearing from the well.
Rega planar 3 bearing and oil
I recently reoiled my rega planar 3 bearing. It had oil in it, and on the shaft of the subplatter, and the turntable had no obvious problems, but I figured it was probably due for it's 3000 mile change, and besides, I like to tinker !
I removed the ball, inspected and thoroughly cleaned all surfaces using isopropyl alcohol, and then added a few drops of castrol hypoid gear oil (as recommended by rega) and checked that the new oil was drawn to the very top of the subplatter shaft.
To my amazement this has resulted in a considerable improvement in the sound of the turntable. Gone is any hint of glassiness or sibilance in the high frequencies, that used to make the deck sound very very similar to my CD player. The sound is just as detailed but beautifully smooth. I wasn't expecting anything like this ... but for $4 of oil (and I have quite a bit left over :-)) I'm very happy.
So any brave owners with old rega decks try changing the oil ... you might be very pleasantly surprised.
On a related issue I noticed that some high-end decks come with ceramic or saphire bearings, of very high tolerance. I have found that www.bocabearings.com can supply such bearings for around $4. Can anyone think of a negative impact of trying a high-precision bearing in the Rega ? Should I stick with steel ? There is an aftermarket subplatter for sale at music direct that uses a ruby bearing.
I removed the ball, inspected and thoroughly cleaned all surfaces using isopropyl alcohol, and then added a few drops of castrol hypoid gear oil (as recommended by rega) and checked that the new oil was drawn to the very top of the subplatter shaft.
To my amazement this has resulted in a considerable improvement in the sound of the turntable. Gone is any hint of glassiness or sibilance in the high frequencies, that used to make the deck sound very very similar to my CD player. The sound is just as detailed but beautifully smooth. I wasn't expecting anything like this ... but for $4 of oil (and I have quite a bit left over :-)) I'm very happy.
So any brave owners with old rega decks try changing the oil ... you might be very pleasantly surprised.
On a related issue I noticed that some high-end decks come with ceramic or saphire bearings, of very high tolerance. I have found that www.bocabearings.com can supply such bearings for around $4. Can anyone think of a negative impact of trying a high-precision bearing in the Rega ? Should I stick with steel ? There is an aftermarket subplatter for sale at music direct that uses a ruby bearing.