SkyWatcher EQ5 Pro Mount Maintenance - Part 1 of 2 disassembly in 20 minutes

[@forton615]

If you don't want to buy the tool you can hammer two big nails through a piece of wood at the right distance (bend nails to correct)

[@astrojourneyuk]

A beautifully simple solution!

[@douglassmith1215]

Thanks for doing this video. I actually have an HEQ5 Pro and I noticed that on mine the main gear is brass and the worm gear is steel, while on the EQ5, the main gear is aluminium and the worm gear is brass. I think a few other parts are brass vs aluminium also. There are also many more roller bearings in the HEQ5. For the relatively small difference in price, I would go with HEQ5 since the mechanics are probably more durable. I would not have realised that unless I had seen your nice teardown.

[@astrojourneyuk]

Yeah, the HEQ5 is definitely a better mount. I got mine secondhand last year when it was impossible to get any new kit.

[@Astronurd]

The HEQ5 is over £340 more expensive

[@JustJamie-h3l]

great video mate, helped me out greatly

[@astrojourneyuk]

That’s great to here. Thanks for letting me know it’s always a great encouragement to know I’ve helped others.

[@NMHC1978]

I bought a secondhanmd EQ5 for not mucht. I saw that the RA was stuck. So i decided to do a hypertune and install a onstep system. But when i tried to remove the RA axis it would not come out. i needed to use a small rubber hamer. also when i got it out the closed bearing (thu upper one in your video) was shitfted 1cm and i could not remove it, it is completely stuck, what can i do hear, i have ordered remplacements. Also the worm gear drive is also stuck, how did you do it to remove it? I removed the clutch leaver on the RA axis and i removed also the bolt of the clutch mechanisme. But then i saw that the black thingy on the bolt was broken in pieces. Im thinking with what i can replace it. I have a RD rinter so i clould try to print same in hard plastick enhanced PLA.

[@astrojourneyuk]

Oh my, there are quite a few issues with the mount. :( The only issue I had was removing the clutch part that was fused to one of the axis and hot water on one part expanded and freed it. Sorry I can’t help further.

[@osvaldoplaza5588]

Hi... whats kind of grease did you use?

[@astrojourneyuk]

The grease that people recommend is this www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/geoptik-equatorial-mount-grease-kit.html

[@miodragpetkovic6142]

i bought this mount used and it is good to know how i can fix it from home. thank you

[@astrojourneyuk]

Happy to help. :)

[@bobmarshall1066]

Great video, you're very brave!! I have quite an ancient EQ5 mount that I would like to disassemble and regrease. What grease do you recommend? I have some very old (about 50 years!) Castrol heavy grease. and some Shell Retinax AM multi purpose grease that contains Molybdenum.

[@astrojourneyuk]

If you’re going to the effort of dismantling it the get the good stuff. Rother Valley Optica have a type 1 and 2 grease for the different parts. Not sure what exactly it is but I’d get that.

[@bobmarshall1066]

@@astrojourneyuk Thanks, I'll check it out. It's possibly lithium based grease?

[@astrojourneyuk]

Here it is. www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/geoptik-equatorial-mount-grease-kit.html

[@bobmarshall1066]

@@astrojourneyuk thank you (y)

[@astrojourneyuk]

No problem.

[@thomas.a.sieber1511]

Thanks for this very nice video! I have a question to you or to the community. Are the 4 Nylon washers all of the same size? I reassembled right ascension, which runs nicely now. When I put one of the remaining washers in the lower bearing of the declination it seems to be too large .... don't want to disassemble right ascension again to check size .... thanks for any hint. Regards Thomas

[@astrojourneyuk]

I can’t remember I’m afraid. Do you mean are the Dec washer the same size as the RA ones? I think the RA washers would be bigger as the mechanism is bigger and more substantial than the Dec part.

[@thomas.a.sieber1511]

@@astrojourneyuk I think in my case they're the same, I finally took the one that fitted best Thanks, T.

[@thomas.a.sieber1511]

Yes in the end I did it the same way. It works, thanks :-) Did you ever disassemble the polar wedge? I think I have either a broken thread or something ist wrong inside, it actually jumps while I turn the screw ...

[@astrojourneyuk]

I’m afraid I didn’t. Sorry. Good luck with the fix.

[@bortle7_de]

This is a phantastic video, thank you! I'm not sure I am mentally ready to dismantle and re-grease my EQ5 yet, but if so I would use this video as a guide. I was thinking about removing the worm drive only, remove the existing grease and re-grease it that way without completely dismantling the mount. Is this something you would recommend as a quick improvement?

[@astrojourneyuk]

If you remove the worm drive be careful to adjust it correctly when reinstalling. Leaving the adjustment bolt in place will help but you might still need to ensure backlash is removed but that the gears don’t mesh too much that it will create additional wear.

[@mingerone]

Hi do you know anywhere I could buy a replacement 135 tooth brass worm gear? New or 2ndhand. I damaged mine by dragging a grub screw or similar across 3 or 4 teeth and part of the smooth section trying to take a rusty old black version HEQ5 apart :( I have modified the mount to be goto with stepper and belts but the damage to the gear causes it to bind for the 3 to 4 turns of the worm on the RA. The stepper motor is onlt at 2:1 ratio to the worm so doesn't have torque to overcome the damage as I'd hoped. II hoped I could lap some of the damage down, as I onlywant to piggy back photograph with mount so can tolerate the inaccuracy damaging the worm gear and worm has caused. I can import a new gear from europe for £168, which is steep as at source it is £65, the other £100 being shipping/import duty. So wonder if you know any good places to find HEQ-5 mounts that are for parts only? I only know ebay. Any other places? Great video by the way, which I had seen this when I did my scope 4 years ago :)

[@astrojourneyuk]

No sorry I can’t help with that.

[@NMHC1978]

someone informed me to use nitril handshoes and i could remove the bearing and the worm gear. the only thing is that i need to replace the broken black thingy So someone has an idea what i can use to replace it

[@garcia9352]

que llave alen que medida es , para sacar 3 pernos ocultos

[@astrojourneyuk]

I'm sorry, I cannot remember, other than it was very small. It didn't help for me that the bolts were rounded off too. :(

[@garcia9352]

he intentado con dos llave alen y no he podido sacar esos 3 pernos

[@astrojourneyuk]

Is it rounded off? Try one that is a little too big and see if you can tap it in to fit.

[@siszu]

Hi how is name for tool where you removed the ring. Please

[@astrojourneyuk]

There’s a link in the description. It’s an eyepiece removal tool I think. RVO provide the tool. I’ve not seen it anywhere else.

[@scottrk4930]

Your're a brace lad ! If you run into troublesome hex/Allen grub screws in the future try using an appropriate sized Torx Driver Bit . They work very well on semi-rounded grub screws . /SRK

[@astrojourneyuk]

Brave, stupid, or nothing to lose I guess. The problem with one of the allen grub screws was it had been replaced, or rounded off. In the end I used a slightly larger one I think, then replaced it with a new one. Thanks for the tip!

[@garcia9352]

esas arandelas juntas de nailon las venden en algun sitio

[@astrojourneyuk]

You will definitely be able to source them from somewhere, but you should be able to reuse the existing ones unless they are damaged. I have seen custom places in the UK that sell them, if you give them the sizes somewhere will likely make them.

[@omulet29]

Best grasse for mount???

[@astrojourneyuk]

Rother Valley Optics do suitable grease, both of the types needed. I’m not sure what exactly they are though if you are not from the UK I’m afraid.

[@Astronurd]

You should have replaced the bearings for SKF ones as it makes a big difference

[@astrojourneyuk]

I think I need to have another go at this again. It’s better but still not 100%. I’ll take a look at those bearings.

[@myastronomy7473]

nice video, only the music is a bit distracting... I would lower the volume of it or even remove it. Furthermore: perfect!👌🏻😀

[@astrojourneyuk]

Sorry about that. My editing skills were worse back then. I don’t think I have the files anymore to recreate without music. 😢

[@astrojourneyuk]

Thank you for the feedback.

[@myastronomy7473]

@@astrojourneyuk No problem! 🙂 The video is very informative anyway. It has confinced me to go clean my MON2/EQ5 mount. Only need to order the correct grease.. 😉

[@Astronurd]

The tool is not made for this purpose, it’s actually a lens key for stripping down eyepieces and camera lenses etc. Great video 👍

[@astrojourneyuk]

That is true, but it does the job.

[@astrojourneyuk]

Thanks for watching too.

[@tacomaastro7462]

That mount was a complete mess. The worm drive mount style is the same as a Meade LX85. The center grub screw is used as a stop for the depth of the gear mesh, the outer screws for advancing the depth and angle of the worm gear. If I understand the design correctly, the gear sleeve is supposed to spin freely and the clutch is used to engage the axis. Always a challenge. Clear skies

[@astrojourneyuk]

The mount is better but still not 100%. I need to have another go this summer.