BIC 960 Platter Bearing Construction
BIC turntables from the 1970s were lubricated with a grease that dries out and turns solid with age. This happened to mine. While this problem is relatively easy to solve, if you do not understand the construction of the platter and bearings, you can easily do some serious damage. I know because I damaged my 960. This article will guide you in the correct procedure so you do not have to repeat my experience.
The platter actually has two bearings. One is a sleeve bearing, in which the central tube of the platter casting fits over a steel spindle. The other is a ball-bearing assembly that supports the platter. The first photo shows the underside of the cast aluminum platter. Note the long tube in the center that forms the sleeve.
The spindle is a black tube made of hard tool steel. It is machined and has two shiny bearing surfaces. Note the slightly thinner area between the two polished surfaces. This bearing holds the platter on a vertical axis, keeping it from wobbling as it turns. A thick, galvanized, sheet steel part forms the support base for the spindle. It is 3-4 mm thick and the spindle appears to be a friction fit into a hole in the base. The spindle itself may also be flared slightly.
The complete ball-bearing assembly has four parts, the photo showing three. On the bottom is a flat washer. On top of that goes the ball-bearing ring. Then a second flat washer rests on top of the bearings. Not shown is a black O-ring that rests on top of the second washer. Finally, the platter sleeve sits on top of the O-ring which forms a cushion between the sleeve and washer.
When originally assembled, grease was applied to the ball-bearing assembly, and to the sleeve bearing. Extra grease was left in the area of the spindle between the two bearing surfaces. Over time, the grease dried, locking the platter sleeve to the spindle.
Free Platter
Freeing the platter is simply a matter of applying some penetrating oil and waiting. The key is to have great patience. It can take several days for the oil to fully penetrate and loosen all the dried grease down to the bottom of the sleeve. First remove the album spindle and set it aside. It is not necessary to remove the rubber platter cover at this time. Apply the penetrating oil to the area shown, where the sleeve and spindle meet. Repeat the application several times a day as the oil disappears into the joint. Putting oil into the open tube of the spindle will do no good at all, since it cannot reach the bearing surfaces.
DO NOT attempt to rotate the platter to loosen it. This is how I damaged the spindle support. It is best to keep applying oil for at least 3 days without attempting to move the platter at all. If you must test it, gently lift the platter straight upwards, without any rotation. If the platter does not slide up easily, continue applying the penetrating oil. You will succeed if you continue to apply oil and wait patiently.
When the platter is free, you will need to remove it and clean all the bearings. To get the platter off, you need to remove a black plastic circlip on top of the spindle. If you have a pair of circlip pliers, great. Otherwise, use almost anything you like. Screwdrivers work. A pair of wooden sticks will also work and will not scratch the platter if you slip.
Lift the platter straight up and off. Remove the rubber pad and plastic sheet under that and set aside. Use some paint thinner to clean off the old grease and penetrating oil residue. Follow that with denatured alcohol to remove all the oily film. When the platter is clean, set it aside.
Cleaning and removing the ball-bearing assembly is a bit trickier. Looking down the spindle, you will be able to see the black O-ring and the top washer. You can also see part of a large, red, plastic gear. To get the washers off, you need to rotate that gear until a large notch is aligned with the spindle. This will give you enough room to wiggle the washers and ball-bearings past the gear.
If the ball-bearing assembly is still stuck together with dried grease, try applying more penetrating oil. Once it is loose, you can try using a long, thin stick to wiggle the parts along the spindle, past the gear and then off the spindle entirely. This will probably be easiest if you prop up the turntable on the front or rear edge. Be sure to lock the tone arm to the rest, and tighten down the shipping wing-nuts before tipping the turntable. As a last resort, you can remove the spindle base from the turntable platform. This gives you full and easy access to the spindle and bearings, but it is quite involved and requires constructing a work stand so you can flip the turntable upside down. See the articles on spindle repair.
Assuming you got the bearings off without disassembling the turntable, clean the bearing parts in paint thinner and denatured alcohol. Also swab the spindle and base with these solvents to clean them thoroughly.
When the parts are all clean, apply a small amount of lubrication to the bearing assembly and reassemble. Almost any light oil could work. I also like silicone grease. I bought a tube on Amazon. The photo below shows the product. When the ball-bearings, washers and O-ring are in place, swab a bit of lubricant around the bearing surfaces of the spindle. Do the same inside the sleeve on the platter. Then slide the platter back in place and replace the drive belt. This would be a good time to do a power up check to confirm that the platter spins and the automatic tone arm function is still OK. If all is good, reinstall the circlip, spindle and platter pad.
Super Lube 91003 Silicone High-Dielectric and Vacuum Grease, 3 oz, is an excellent multi-purpose grease. It is perfect for electrical contacts and low-speed rotating or sliding metal parts. The image and text links are my affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you choose to buy this product.
Heat Is Quickest Solution
Many visitors have commented that a hot soldering iron loosened the old grease fastest. The consensus is to remove excess solder from the tip of a low-wattage soldering iron and use it to melt the grease. A pencil type like the Weller WLC100 works well.
First remove the parts that could melt easily, like the plastic circlip and rubber pad. You can clean the tip by wiping it on a moistened sponge, like the one included with most soldering stations. Then put the iron into the opening in the spindle. Let is sit for ten to fifteen minutes so it can heat the spindle shaft. When the grease has softened, the platter will lift off easily. From there it is a simple matter to clean out all the old grease and apply a new lubricant.
Damaged by Impatience
So what will happen if you succumb to impatience and rotate the platter? When I did this, I was initially thrilled because I thought I was making progress at freeing the grease. I did not know then how the platter and spindle were constructed. At first the rotation was difficult and it stuck more at some positions than at others. But as I applied more penetrating oil and turned it more, the platter became looser. It was only much later that I realized that the spindle was turning in the hole of the support base.
Eventually, I decided that what I was doing could not possibly be right. That was the point at which I embarked upon a path of disassembly and discovery. It would lead me to realize that I had destroyed the friction fit between the spindle and its support base. Instead of a steady support for the spindle on which the platter rotated freely, I had a platter still locked to a spindle that wobbled around in a distorted hole in the support base. Disaster.
Still, I was able to solve this new problem, but at a cost of several days of work. If you have suffered a similar fate, take hope. The next set of articles explains how to fix the damaged spindle mount.
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Hi Ray–
I’m working on a BIC 980. The turntable spins just fine and it will play on manual, but when I try the auto it cycles half way and stops. There is a detent in the big red wheel and a follower hits that and stops the cycle. Any ideas on how to fix it?
Could sticky ball-bearings cause the platter to wobble?
I have a 960 with a wobble causing wow and I think it’s either a lose o-ring or the sticky ball bearings.
Also, should the o-ring be tight to the platter?
The purpose of the two metal washers (o-ring) is to give the bearings a durable and smooth, steel surface on which to ride. The bottom washer should lay flat against the supporting bracket. The top washer should sit flat and level on top of the ball bearings. The bottom of platter casting then sits flat against the top washer. The photo in this article shows how the parts go on the spindle.
I’m not sure about the sticky ball-bearings causing wobble. Could one of the balls have fallen out of the bearing? Or maybe the spindle has become loose in the bracket? I caused the latter problem when I tried forcing my platter to spin and the grease had dried and locked the platter to the spindle. What turned was the spindle in bracket hole. I wrote two more articles about how to fix that problem.
Anyway, you can fix the stickiness fairly easily if you remove the platter and then the bottom cover so you can reach the bearing assembly. It is best to remove the entire bearing assembly (two washers and the ball-bearings). Clean the bearings with a small amount of solvent, like isopropyl alcohol or even paint thinner. Let it dry thoroughly. Then lubricate it with a small amount of light oil. Reassemble everything and you will be ready to go.
Great post on BIC lubrication Helioza! My BIC 980 was just a little slow in speed at the start. I pulled the TT platter, oiled the shaft and the spindle bearings with 30 weight synthetic oil. Starts faster and gets up to speed quickly. Easy fix. Thanks!
Thx i got my platter unstuck via your instruction.
Q: How do i get the headshell off the tonearm?? Can it be rotated? I need to change the cartridge.
Thanks again
I don’t remember how I have changed the cartridge in the past. It might require a small screwdriver. I don’t believe rotation of the head is involved.
Thanks for the quick reply – I can clearly see the clip in your photo – but I do not have that clip in my BIC 914 turntable – I checked the owners manual and it does not reference a clip for removal of the platter and the owner’s manual mentions the c clip for some of the 900 series turntables but not the 914 – so I am thinking there is no clip to remove??
I am in the process of trying to remove the turntable platter on my Bic 914 by applying WD-40 and heat – no success yet but I don’t see a “black plastic circlip” to remove – am I missing something? Can someone provide a photo of exactly where this is located.
Thanks.
Visit my article on repairing a damaged spindle for a photo. https://helioza.com/totality/audio/rayfranklin/repair-a-damaged-bic-960-spindle-mount/
The clip is on top of the platter and engages into a slot cut into the top of the spindle.
some how you can make arm go down slower with oil do you know how to do this
Sorry, I don’t know how to fix the tone-arm damper. I doubt oil alone can fix the problem, but I could be wrong.
WD-40 and pencil soldering iron did the trick. It took a couple of days, but it worked.
Yes, heat seems to be the easiest and most reliable. I like the combination of heat with a penetrating oil like WD-40.
Excellent well written article. I still need to get my platter free of the shaft. But the soldering iron trick freed up the ball bearings at the bottom. Going to let it soak a few more days, applying Liquid Wrench twice a day.
Appreciate your post . . right on the money !
HI I have the sp85 model & also found the platter frozen I managed to free it after this excellent article. I have 2 problems I would appreciate help with My mains lead is only blue and black wires not sure which is the live colour?Also when removed the platter I did not find any washers or bearing ring which is shown in these pictures.There does not appear to be enough room for a bearing when the platter is reset with the c clip.Has anybody got any suggestions. many thanks..AL .JASON
I would suspect black is the hot, or live, wire. To be sure use an ohmmeter to trace the wire to a prong on the plug. On US 2-wire polarized plugs, the wide prong is neutral and the narrow one is hot. In addition, the cord insulation is ribbed on the neutral wire and smooth on the live one. If the original plug is not polarized, then it doesn’t matter which wire is live.
As for the bearings, I only know about the BIC 960. Mine had the bearings and washer. If yours does not, then it was likely designed that way.
how can you tell if the motor is frozen or completely dead
You’ll need to remove the bottom cover and take off the drive belt. Check whether the platter spins or not. If it does not spin easily, then the spindle is stuck with dried grease as described in this article. Next, plug in the power cord and turn the player on. If the motor spins, then the only problem is the stuck platter. If the motor does not spin, then you do indeed have a frozen or dead motor.
My BIC truntable was stuck and before I tried to take it off I knew others would have the same issue. I decided based on the info about the grease that a quick blast or two from the heat gun on the aluminum turn table, after the diameter part was removed, Aluminum would heat up quick and expand and soften the grease. It slid right off.
I have another turntable that is sluggish and I think I will repair after this rebuild is done too.
Thanks for the information.
Excellent review of the problem! I tried penetrating oil, but I still could not get it off. In reading many articles, I ended up using a pencil-type 23 watt soldering iron, clean of solder, of course. I just put it vertically into the shaft hole and let it sit about 15 minutes. It applied a very gentle heat. I then rotated the platter just a tiny bit back and forth and looking at the top of the platter I could tell the shaft down into the BIC was not moving. It just took a couple of tiny movements back and forth about 1/8″ and upward pressure. And it slid right off. I think it was the combination of the penetrating oil and then some very gentle heat in my case that allowed it to slide right off extremely easily. Thanks for your article! It was excellent and very well done!
Soaked it for 2 weeks but never came free until I used the end of a socket tapping it with a small hammer
Came free almost immediate
Spinning vynil ?
I’ve got an old 980 I’m trying to get going.Thank you for a very detailed article; I’m going to try out your solution (no pun intended) right now.