[Ron Ramirez]

Tim

If I were you...and especially since you have an ultrasonic parts cleaner now...I would definitely disassemble, clean, regrease and reinstall that shaft assembly. Believe me, it is only going to get worse if you don't clean it up now. That decades-old grease needs to be cleaned up, cleaned out, and replaced with new white lithium grease.

Yes, the assembly is held in place by a C-clip. Remove the clip, and then carefully - while pushing in on the inner shaft - pull both outer and inner shaft free of the retainer.

Beware of five ball bearings inside. Don't lose them! There will be three larger ball bearings in the end of the outer shaft. Deep down inside the outer shaft is a smaller ball bearing, a spring, and another smaller ball bearing.

I have worked on some Philcos with dial drives that were in such bad shape that they are still rough even after cleaning, regreasing, and reassembly. My Philco Tropic 41-722T's tuning is still very rough due to a badly worn two-speed concentric shaft assembly, but since there aren't very many 41-722s around I will have to live with it. It, along with the rest of my Tropics, are shelf queens anyway so it's not like they see daily use anymore.