Regreasing the Vixen GPDX equatorial

mount
Copyright (c) Carsten A. Arnholm.

Where I live (Norway), it sometimes gets colder than the standard GPDX grease appreciates,
resulting in a very stiff mount. I therefore decided to follow where others had gone before,
and regrease the GPDX using low temperature grease. I used Biral LTG Low temperature
Grease, a lithium based grease with temperature range from -50C to +80C.
These pages contain images and notes on how I dismantled and regreased my GPDX. The
procedure I followed was based on a similar description for the CG5 mount found at
http://www.astronomyboy.com/cg5/ . The CG5 is a clone of the GPDX, but there are some
few differences. I recommend studying that CG5 site well before starting the work on your
GPDX mount, and use my pictures and notes as supplementary information. It is not terribly
difficult, but a methodical approach is recommended.
To read the details and see higher resolution images, click any of the thumbnails below or
start with the top left one and continue pressing the "Next" link on each page.
Test results: After greasing/reassembling the GPDX, I performed a periodic error test, the
results can be seen here http://arnholm.org/astro/gpdx/pec_20050722.gif. In short, the mount
has an uncorrected periodic error of 30 arc seconds (peak to valley), and less than 5 arc
seconds when subject to periodic error correction.
DISCLAIMER: These pages simply reflect what I did to my mount. I do not guarantee that I
did everything correctly. Be aware that you may void any warranty on your mount by
performing these operations. I accept no responsibility for any damage you may inflict on
your mount by following these instructions. If you decide to dismantle your mount, it is
entirely YOUR responsibility to avoid damage.
Starting out with some
necessary tools

• Biral LTG Low

temperature Grease
• Toothbrush useful for
cleaning
• Q-tips for applying grease.
• Solvent, not shown. I
used 95 octane unleaded
gasoline. Be extremely
careful with such liquid,
wrong use can cause a
fatal explosion. Use at
your own risk and only
under open air and under
no circumstance inside
your home. It is YOUR
responsibility to follow
adequate safety
procedures.
• Pen and paper for making
notes
• Allen wrenches & small
screwdrivers
• A piece of wood and some
nails for making a spanner
tool required for unlocking
the ring nuts.
• A caliper (not shown) for
measuring spanner tool
distances.
• I later found that a Torx
T5 tool was needed for
removing the retaining
rings on the RA axis.

• A camera to shoot images

of your progress is always
useful.
Here, we are removing the DEC
housing from the mount by
unscrewing 2 hex screws as
show. Store the screws in a safe
place. Make sure the DEC head
doesn't fall while unscrewing.
The DEC housing has been
removed.

Put the rest of the mount away

and concentrate on dismantling
the DEC part.
Remove the two hex screws
that hold the dovetail adapter to
the DEC housing. Again, keep
the screws in a safe place.
The dovetail adapter has been
removed, revealing the details
of the DEC shaft inside.
Turn the DEC housing around
and unscrew the black retaining
ring (see bottom of image).
Notice that under the retaining
ring are two plastic washers.
Make sure you don't lose these
washers.

Remove the DEC setting circle

(black). Under the setting circle
you will now see the DEC ring
nut holding the DEC shaft in
place.
Turn the dec shaft around in the
housing, and make sure you
identify any lock screws on the
side of the ring nut. On my
mount there was exactly one
lock screw.

Loosen all lock screws properly

(but don't remove any from the
ring nut!!) before attempting to
unscrew the ring nut. The lock
screws are accessed as shown
in the picture at left. Failure to
loosen up all the lock screws
before unscrewing the ring nut
may destroy the DEC shaft
threads, so be careful with this
step.
Measure the distances between
the indentations of the ring nut.
The spanner tool will use these
for unscrewing the ring nut. I
measured 36mm (3.6 cm).
Spanner tool has been made
and is ready for use.
The DEC ring nut has been
unscrewed, revealing a plastic
washer underneath. Keep the
ring nut and washer together in
a safe place.

We are now ready to remove

the DEC shaft from the DEC
housing.
The DEC shaft with bronze
worm gear has been lifted out of
the DEC housing. Notice the
little red plastic button inside
the DEC housing. It belongs
under the DEC lock screw seen
on the outside of the DEC
housing. Do not lose this red
plastic button.

Also notice the big white plastic

washer on the near side of the
bronze DEC worm gear.
Plastic washer and DEC lock
screw plastic button removed.
Keep in a safe place.
Unscrew the DEC worm housing
from the DEC shaft. There are 4
screws, all same size.
Keep the DEC worm housing
and 4 screws in a safe place.

We are now ready to remove

the bronze worm gear from the
DEC shaft.
The bronze worm gear has been
removed from worm shaft.
Notice the big plastic washer on
the far side of the worm gear.
Keep in a safe place. It seems
to be of the same dimension as
the washer on the other side of
the worm gear, but store it
separately just in case.
Exploded view showing how the
main parts fit together.

Under no circumstance try to fit

the parts without applying
grease first, you may be unable
to separate the parts again, and
thus ruin your mount.
Dismantle the DEC worm
housing. Unscrew the silver nut,
followed by the black threaded
bushing.

Please notice that there are two

tiny steel washers on each side
of the worm shaft, they can be
difficult to see, and may be
stuck in grease on either the
worm shaft or the threaded
bushing. Do not lose these
washers, they are the smallest
parts you will encounter !!
DEC shaft has been dismantled
and cleaned. Ready for greasing
using a Q-tip as grease
application tool.
Here the DEC shaft has been
greased and partly
reassembled. Notice in
particular

• The DEC shaft has been

completely greased on all
bearing surfaces.
• Plastic washers have been
regreased and replaced on
both sides of worm gear.
• The worm gear has been
regreased on the inside
and on both ends. This
picture shows it greased
also on the outside, but it
is really only the worm
gear teeth that should be
greased, the smooth part
does not bear on anything
and the DEC lock screw
uses the smooth part of
the worm gear, so it is
preferably left ungreased.
• The worm gear has been
repositioned back on DEC
shaft. Notice the teeth go
in first.
• The DEC housing has been
regreased on all bearing
surfaces inside.

• The red plastic button is

put back in place under
the DEC lock screw.
DEC part completely
reassembled. The ring nut
washer, ring nut, setting circles,
retaining ring washers and
retaining ring have all been put
back in opposite order
compared to how they were
removed. The ring nut washer
was greased, and also the ring
nut threads.

The ring nut was adjusted to

allow the DEC shaft to turn
freely. The ring nut lock screws
were fastened.
The DEC part is complete. Let
us turn to the RA part. The
principle is very similar to the
DEC part, but there are some
minor differences.

In order to remove the rings

holding the RA setting circles,
you need a 1.2mm hex allen
wrench, but a Torx T5 worked
just as well, and was easier for
me to find in a hardware store.
Before anything else, remove
the RA worm housing. It has 4
screws, exactly as for the DEC
worm.
RA worm housing removed,
revealing bronze RA worm gear
underneath.
Turn the mount around and
start dismantling. First remove
the setting circle knurled lock
screw (top).
Setting circle lock screw has
been removed. Then loosen (but
don't remove!) the lock screws
on the two setting circle
retaining rings. Unscrew the
first ring, and the second will
follow. Keep in a safe place.
Lift off the first setting circle.
Keep in a safe place.
Remove second setting circle.
Keep in a safe place.
Unscrew and remove polar axis
scope. Keep in a safe place.
RA ring nut is now visible. There
were some differences
compared to the DEC ring nut

• The distance between

indentations were 40mm
instead of 36mm, so
another spanner tool is
needed.
• The RA ring nut had 3 lock
screws on the outside,
while the DEC ring nut
had only one.

• The RA ring nut lock

screws can only be
accessed through the RA
setting circle lock screw
hole (on the top), using
the proper allen hex
wrench.
Polar axis scope removed.
Loosening the RA ring nut lock
screws. Do not remove the lock
screws, but loosen them enough
to unscrew the ring nut. Tight
lock screws may destroy the
threads of the RA shaft, so be
careful before you turn the ring
nut.
RA ring nut removed. Notice
two of three lock screws on the
side.
Plastic washer found under the
RA ring nut. Keep in a safe
place.
RA shaft can now be removed
from the RA housing.
Similar to DEC shaft, there are
two big plastic washers, one on
each side of the bronze worm
gear. There is also a small red
button under the RA lock
handle, similar to DEC axis.
Keep in a safe place.
Removing the RA worm gear
from the RA shaft. Notice
orientation of teeth on the worm
gear. Notice also the little red
button under the RA lock handle
at left. This button can fall out,
make sure you don't lose it.
Removing washer on the far end
of the RA worm gear. Keep in a
safe place.
Detailed view of the red lock
handle button.
RA worm housing. Dismantle as
for DEC axis. Again don't lose
the two tiny steel washers!
Regreasing

• The bearing surfaces of

the RA shaft (also under
worm gear!)
• The inside of the worm
gear, plus both ends and
teeth.
• The two plastic washers
(on each end of the
bronze RA worm gear).

Then all the parts are put back

in place, in opposite sequence
as when dismantling. Don't
forget the red plastic lock
handle button.
Regrease all bearing surfaces
inside the RA housing.
Other side of RA housing shown.
Taking care to regrease all
bearing surfaces.
Ring nut and polar axis scope
has been replaced.

care was taken to adjust the

ring nut and lock all the ring nut
lock screws properly. Don't
forget to regrease and put back
the plastic washer under the
ring nut.
Setting circle and setting circle
lock screw has been replaced.
The lock screw engages threads
in the setting circle.
Closeup view after replacing
setting circle and lock screw.
Second setting circle and
retaining rings have been
replaced. Adjusted to allow the
white setting circle ring to move
freely. Retaining ring lock
screws fastened using Torx T5
tool.
View of regreased RA worm
gear before restoring the RA
worm housing.
The regreased worm housing
has been put back in place. The
black nob is used while
adjusting the 5 adjustment
screws. The idea is to let the
worm move freely without
backlash.
The counterweight shaft and the
two motors have been put back
in place. The motors are non-
standard Sanyo Denki motors,
employing belt power transfer
to the worm shafts. This is
described further elsewhere on
this site.
Closeup of RA motor. We are
ready for testing!