Reconditioning a Lifefitness Elliptical - Page 4

28. The next several steps are to disassemble all of the bushings and pivots, inspect them for wear, clean the bushings, and lubricate them with bearing grease. The upper bushings for the front rocker arms are first. They are easily removed with a hex wrench or a 9/16 socket. Once removed, the front arms slide off. Be careful not to damage to wires that go to the heart rate monitor sensors in each front arm. This picture shows the bushing inside the main post. It is in good condition and does not need to be replaced.

29. The front rocker arms have a polished shaft that inserts into the bushing. These are also in excellent consition and just need to be cleaned and greased. We then re-installed them.

30. There are two designs for the bushing and shaft. In the first design, there is no adjustment for side-to-side play. After some time, side-to-side play may develop and this results in a 'knocking noise'. The fix is to insert a 0.015" thick wavy washer to take up the play and allow smooth operation.

31. The second design has an adjustable collar at the inside of the rocker arm. The collar may be loosened with a hex wrench to take up side-to-side play. Note the wire for the heart monitor electrode has a nylon collar where it goes into the main frame. This must be in place to prevent the wire from getting damaged with use.

32. Now we turn our attention to the tie rods for the rear drive. Next the rear pivot cam is loosened from the rubber wheel with a hex wrench. It will be removed after the tie rods are removed. Then the rear tie rod bushing bolt is loosened using a 1/2 socket wrench.

33. Next we remove the front bushing from each tie rod end with a socket and open end wrench.

34. Here are the parts in an exploded view. They are all in excellent condition and just need to be cleaned and lubricated with bearing grease.

35. The tie rods are well constructed and have sealed bearings at each end. But we find that on closer inspection, about 25% of these bearings are bad and have to be replaced. This is a simple process of tapping ther old one out with a hammer and socket, and pressing the new one in in our bench vise.

36. With the tie rods and lower pedal arms removed, we can inspect the main drive cam and roller. The wheel is rubber and rides on a plate on the lower arm assembly. It has a sealed bearing. These are usually in excellent condition and just need to be disassembled, cleaned and lubricated.

37. There are two styles for mounting. In the first style, a tabbed washer and 'O' ring hold the roller in place. As with the front rocker arms, eventually, side-to-side play may develop, resulting in noise. We install 0.015" spring washers to take up the play if needed.

38. In the second style, the roller is held in place with a collar. Loosening the two set screws with a hex wrench allows proper adjustment and eliminates side-to-side play and noise.

Inside the drive are 2 large block bearings (not shown). They were also in excellent condition. After cleaning, and lubricating, the control arms are reinstalled and now all of the bearings and bushings have been cleaned. Note: When the pedal arm is fully back, the cam to the tie rod must be attached so that it is facing forwards. Installing it 180 degrees off will result in the stride being 11 inches instead of 17.

<Back Page 3 -------- Next Page 5>