Tried two different ways to quiet a noisy traction sheave and the second one actually worked

I had this old Otis gearless unit in a downtown building making that classic grinding sound. First, I just cleaned and re-greased the sheave groove like the quick fix guide said. The noise came back in about three weeks. Then I talked to a guy who said to polish the groove with 400 grit emery cloth first, then apply a thin coat of Molykote G-n paste. Did that six months ago on the same unit and it's still whisper quiet. The extra ten minutes of prep made all the difference. Anyone have a different paste they swear by for this?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_alex2d ago

Polish first, paste second. That prep work is the real secret sauce.

clark.iris2d ago

That bit about the extra ten minutes of prep... it's wild how often the real fix is just doing the simple thing right, not finding some magic bullet.