Stethoscope

[skinnypuppy]

I have been plagued with a shit ton of mfp's that have developed various squeaks. Has anyone ever tried out one of those amplifying stethoscopes with probes to pin point the location of
these noises? Or does anyone here have any other tricks (not the screw driver to the ear trick)

[qbert69]

Re: Stethoscope

I have been plagued with a shit ton of mfp's that have developed various squeaks. Has anyone ever tried out one of those amplifying stethoscopes with probes to pin point the location of
these noises? Or does anyone here have any other tricks (not the screw driver to the ear trick)

Roll up a cone of paper to help localize the sound & funnel it into your ear...[emoji6]

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk

[blackcat4866]

Re: Stethoscope

It doesn't really work anymore since the drive is buried under boards and completely inaccessible, but back when you could see drive components rotate if you put your finger on the end of the shaft you could feel the vibration through the shaft. On one very memorable occasion a customer tapped me on the shoulder while I was doing this, and a Mita DC3285 removed most of the flesh from my right index finger. The worst part however was taking back the finger from the rotating drive.

In real life situations, I find that the only thing that really works is to try lubricating a few things, bit by bit, until you have a mental list of likely candidates. For example certain Toshibas like to squeak from the exit section. =^..^=

[ZOOTECH]

Re: Stethoscope

I just used my ~18 inch screw driver; press the end against the suspected item, with your ear on the handle. I do have a stethoscope that I used for Diesel engine repairs (many years ago).

[copyman]

Re: Stethoscope

This goes along with another recent post here about wearing a headlight. Wouldn't that be a sight, headlight & using a stethoscope, haha.

Anyway noises are tough sometimes, especially squealing. It can sound like noise is coming from the right and ends up beinging something on left. If you are lucky you can get it to squeal by turning a roller gear, etc by hand. Otherwise start by lubing any bushings you can see with back cover off and any doors open. Tell customer to run a while for oil to work it's way in, and let you know in about a week. If they call back have to go to plan B, which is removing some boards to gain access to hidden busings, bearings, fans, etc

By the way I use tri-flow. It comes with a very thin tube for precise oiling

[srvctec]

Re: Stethoscope

I bought a stethoscope probably about 20-25 years ago, specifically to use on trying to locate noises in copiers. I think I used it maybe once or twice, mainly because it seemed ridiculous to be wearing that in someone's office. About 18 or so years ago, I made a much simpler solution to use. I just took a length of tubing that fit on the shell of a Bic pen (just take out the pen innards) and put the two together. The pen is required so that I can probe it into relatively small openings and areas to isolate the noise/squeak while holding the tube end to my ear. It's pretty small and fits in my toolbox easily and weight is negligible. Maybe just make something like that and call it a day.

[spanky]

Re: Stethoscope

I carry a piece of garden hose about 12 inches long.

You move it around to see where the sound is the loudest.

[Hansen88]

Re: Stethoscope

I do the screwdriver trick and also oil things till I narrow it down. Sometimes it is just tough,seems like everything that moves has been oiledand squeak still remains.

[FrohnB]

Re: Stethoscope

Mostly the screwdriver to the ear trick. We did have a tech here that had the stethoscope with essentially a knitting needle on the end, and like someone earlier mentioned, he looked pretty goofy sometimes trying to track a squeak down (but I probably look just as goofy to a customer when I'm leaning into a machine with a screwdriver to my ear).

Hate it when a squeak comes from a sealed torque limiter, or a contact plate touching the end of a shaft, or something dumb like that, and not from a bushing.

[skinnypuppy]

Re: Stethoscope

Yup well buddy (car mechanic) has a spare he is going to let me try out, I am too old to give shit if I look goofy as long as the tool I am using is an improvement and can help solve the problem. I am in!