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Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Wed May 08, 2019 9:12 pm
by k4kfh
I have a PM Research #3 (little 1/2" bore horizontal engine) that I've fitted with a centrifugal governor. The governor is like the photo below, it came premade from Microcosm Engine. It works beautifully, but the gears on the governor are ridiculously noisy. I've tried using washers to shim the gears and take up some of the slop, which worked, but it didn't really reduce the noise that much. Anyone have any suggestions for reducing gear noise on a little engine like this? I can barely hear the pleasant exhaust sounds over the annoying whirring and buzzing of the governor gears. (I have done experimenting and it is definitely the gears, not another part of the governor)
Photo of the governor:
https://img.staticbg.com/thumb/large/oa ... 945926.JPG
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Wed May 08, 2019 10:36 pm
by Rwilliams
Can you make a nice looking cover for the gears and submerge them in a light grease?
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Wed May 08, 2019 11:22 pm
by NP317
Make Delrin gears?
~RN
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 6:52 am
by Bill Shields
use bananas for the lube...nice and thick....and bio degradable
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 11:20 am
by Jacob's dad
STP Oil Treatment sticks to the gears. I had a friend that used it as lube on a large shay he had.
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 11:23 am
by cbrew
is the finish on the gears sharp? another words. do they need to be broken in? if so, i would be incline to run something like tooth paste in the gear set for a while to break them in, disassembly for a complete cleaning and run it
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 11:30 am
by Fender
Try some chainsaw bar oil, or way oil for lathes. It is designed to stick to surfaces.
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 11:34 am
by cbrew
k4kfh wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2019 9:12 pm
I have a PM Research #3 (little 1/2" bore horizontal engine) that I've fitted with a centrifugal governor. The governor is like the photo below, it came premade from Microcosm Engine. It works beautifully, but the gears on the governor are ridiculously noisy. I've tried using washers to shim the gears and take up some of the slop, which worked, but it didn't really reduce the noise that much. Anyone have any suggestions for reducing gear noise on a little engine like this? I can barely hear the pleasant exhaust sounds over the annoying whirring and buzzing of the governor gears. (I have done experimenting and it is definitely the gears, not another part of the governor)
Photo of the governor:
https://img.staticbg.com/thumb/large/oa ... 945926.JPG
by the way, where did you pick up the governor?
disregard, found it 
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 12:05 pm
by makinsmoke
I thought bananas were for a noisy tranny. White lead for a noisy rear end!
Lol!
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 12:11 pm
by Bill Shields
white lead is an eco-no-no these days.
We can always find a monkey to munch on a bunch of bananas...
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 6:40 pm
by Kimball McGinley
It could be that it actually runs too freely; in that case the gears sort of dance back and forth in their clearance space. Heavier lube, as others have suggested, might dampen it out.
Maybe try adding a bit of drag so the gears are always driving?
Re: Quieting noisy gears
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 7:11 pm
by Bill Shields
maybe take the backlash out of the gears so that they mesh properly...???
you can put a light belleville washer behind one gear so that it pushes up against the other....
emphasis here on LIGHT....
After you get the backlash out with the washer, and BEFORE you apply banana oil....put in some non-embedding lapping compound and get the gears to seat properly....assuming that you have already gone over them with a fine file and a magnifying glass to remove all burrs...
If you have nothing else, toothpaste works well...
