[TenTec] Ten Tec 509 PTO Stuck

[Ed - K9EW]

Hi Kevin,

The Century 21 PTO re-lube is pretty easy.  Take a look at Monty's (N5ESE)
documentation at http://www.io.com/~n5fc/c21_pto.htm .  When I did mine, I
ordered the rebuild kit but I found that -at least in this case - it wasn't
necessary because all the parts were in decent shape.  There are some
plastic parts that wear out though, so you may find you will need the kit.
But it's worth a try to just clean and re-lube.  One member of this list
suggested using Mobil One Synthetic grease.  I tried it, and it does work
well (I have a lifetime supply of it if you need some).  I have also had
good success using Lithium White grease (available at Sears in toothpaste
size tubes).  The White Grease is thinner than the Mobil One Synthetic, and
the tuning knob glides along effortlessly.  The advantage of the Synthetic
Grease is you will probably never have to re-lube the PTO in your lifetime,
but it is a little thicker, and the tuning is slightly stiffer  (but still
very acceptable).  I've used both in rebuilding or re-lubing my TenTec
PTO's, and I'm satisfied with both.  Of the four PTO's that I've worked on,
I only needed parts for one; the rest were just clean and re-lubircate.

I also have some PTO information on my website (http://k9ew.home.att.net),
but it's mainly how to get the darn PTO out of the radio.  Then I point to
Monty's write-up for the actual rebuild.

Hope this is of some help for you.

73,
ed - k9ew