BIC turntables from the 1970s were lubricated with a grease that dries out and turns solid with age. This happened to mine. While this problem is relatively easy to solve, if you do not understand the construction of the platter and bearings, you can easily do some serious damage. I know because I damaged my 960. This article will guide you in the correct procedure so you do not have to repeat my experience.

The platter actually has two bearings. One is a sleeve bearing, in which the central tube of the platter casting fits over a steel spindle. The other is a ball-bearing assembly that supports the platter. The first photo shows the underside of the cast aluminum platter. Note the long tube in the center that forms the sleeve.

The spindle is a black tube made of hard tool steel. It is machined and has two shiny bearing surfaces. Note the slightly thinner area between the two polished surfaces. This bearing holds the platter on a vertical axis, keeping it from wobbling as it turns. A thick, galvanized, sheet steel part forms the support base for the spindle. It is 3-4 mm thick and the spindle appears to be a friction fit into a hole in the base. The spindle itself may also be flared slightly.

The complete ball-bearing assembly has four parts, the photo showing three. On the bottom is a flat washer. On top of that goes the ball-bearing ring. Then a second flat washer rests on top of the bearings. Not shown is a black O-ring that rests on top of the second washer. Finally, the platter sleeve sits on top of the O-ring which forms a cushion between the sleeve and washer.

When originally assembled, grease was applied to the ball-bearing assembly, and to the sleeve bearing. Extra grease was left in the area of the spindle between the two bearing surfaces. Over time, the grease dried, locking the platter sleeve to the spindle.

Freeing the platter is simply a matter of applying some penetrating oil and waiting. The key is to have great patience. It can take several days for the oil to fully penetrate and loosen all the dried grease down to the bottom of the sleeve. First remove the album spindle and set it aside. It is not necessary to remove the rubber platter cover at this time. Apply the penetrating oil to the area shown, where the sleeve and spindle meet. Repeat the application several times a day as the oil disappears into the joint. Putting oil into the open tube of the spindle will do no good at all, since it cannot reach the bearing surfaces.

DO NOT attempt to rotate the platter to loosen it. This is how I damaged the spindle support. It is best to keep applying oil for at least 3 days without attempting to move the platter at all. If you must test it, gently lift the platter straight upwards, without any rotation. If the platter does not slide up easily, continue applying the penetrating oil. You will succeed if you continue to apply oil and wait patiently.

When the platter is free, you will need to remove it and clean all the bearings. To get the platter off, you need to remove a black plastic circlip on top of the spindle. If you have a pair of circlip pliers, great. Otherwise, use almost anything you like. Screwdrivers work. A pair of wooden sticks will also work and will not scratch the platter if you slip.

Lift the platter straight up and off. Remove the rubber pad and plastic sheet under that and set aside. Use some paint thinner to clean off the old grease and penetrating oil residue. Follow that with denatured alcohol to remove all the oily film. When the platter is clean, set it aside.

Cleaning and removing the ball-bearing assembly is a bit trickier. Looking down the spindle, you will be able to see the black O-ring and the top washer. You can also see part of a large, red, plastic gear. To get the washers off, you need to rotate that gear until a large notch is aligned with the spindle. This will give you enough room to wiggle the washers and ball-bearings past the gear.

If the ball-bearing assembly is still stuck together with dried grease, try applying more penetrating oil. Once it is loose, you can try using a long, thin stick to wiggle the parts along the spindle, past the gear and then off the spindle entirely. This will probably be easiest if you prop up the turntable on the front or rear edge. Be sure to lock the tone arm to the rest, and tighten down the shipping wing-nuts before tipping the turntable. As a last resort, you can remove the spindle base from the turntable platform. This gives you full and easy access to the spindle and bearings, but it is quite involved and requires constructing a work stand so you can flip the turntable upside down. See the articles on spindle repair.

Assuming you got the bearings off without disassembling the turntable, clean the bearing parts in paint thinner and denatured alcohol. Also swab the spindle and base with these solvents to clean them thoroughly.

When the parts are all clean, apply a small amount of lubrication to the bearing assembly and reassemble. I am not sure what the best lubricant would be, but I used a spray-on product called 711. WD-40 could also work, or even a drop of motor oil. When the ball-bearings, washers and O-ring are in place, swab a bit of lubricant around the bearing surfaces of the spindle. Do the same inside the sleeve on the platter. Then slide the platter back in place and replace the drive belt. This would be a good time to do a power up check to confirm that the platter spins and the automatic tone arm function is still OK. If all is good, reinstall the circlip, spindle and platter pad.

So what will happen if you succumb to impatience and rotate the platter? When I did this, I was initially thrilled because I thought I was making progress at freeing the grease. I did not know then how the platter and spindle were constructed. At first the rotation was difficult and it stuck more at some positions than at others. But as I applied more penetrating oil and turned it more, the platter became looser. It was only much later that I realized that the spindle was turning in the hole of the support base.

Eventually, I decided that what I was doing could not possibly be right. That was the point at which I embarked upon a path of disassembly and discovery. It would lead me to realize that I had destroyed the friction fit between the spindle and its support base. Instead of a steady support for the spindle on which the platter rotated freely, I had a platter still locked to a spindle that wobbled around in a distorted hole in the support base. Disaster.

Still, I was able to solve this new problem, but at a cost of several days of work. If you have suffered a similar fate, take hope. The next set of articles explains how to fix the damaged spindle mount.

My bic 980 also goes to the 45 setting in autoplay...did you ever figure out how to fix it? The information you provided was perfect. I was able to fix my stuck BIC 980 belt drive turntable by following your instructions. Thank you so much. I now have another perplexing problem with the turntable. Although the turntable spins at 33 RPM when I play a full length album, the tone arm always swings to the 45 RPM spot on the record when I play records in the automatic, taher than manual, mode. I have to place the tone arm manually at the start of each new album. I have tried moving the control switch from 45 to 33 and back again with no success. The turntable plays the record properly at 33 RPM, but I cannot play a stack of records using the automatic, multiple play feature. Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks again. I always just have to feel my way through problems like this because I have no prior experience repairing turntables. From what you say, it sounds like the mechanism that drops an LP onto the platter is not working right. So starting from there, I would try to understand how the mechanism should work normally. The trigger for dropping a new LP is when the tone arm gets to the inner track. You can always watch the mechanism through the clear base as you manually turn the platter slowly. That way you can see how each part moves through its cycles. Somewhere, a part is going to move that should actuate that hinge and cause the spindle to drop the next LP. I think that is where you will find the problem. Good luck. I've got a different problem. Used your advice to overhaul a 960 that wasn't indexing properly, thanks! But now I get a click click noise from underneath. On examination it appears the bottom of the multi-LP spindle is triggering a metal hinge with a spring on every revolution of the platter. It's clicking 3X each rev. Any idea how to fix this? Thanks! I had a different stuck problem. Both my 940 & 960 would not index in auto play. Both would go to the 45 setting. Seaching the net I found Adam at South Street Service. With his advice I found the two levers buy the rca jacks. They were stuck big time. A shot of Radio Shack Tuner cleaner freed them up. I then shot them with WD-40. The two springs now do their job. Be careful the two metal pieces will bent easy. Stay In The Grove Everyone great article thanks. I just managed to get my grans old record player working. I just let wd40 soak into the spindle. the next day managed to carefully work it free. Its an alba model 642 unused for about 20 years I reckon. jut need some records now ! I believe this is a problem with all BIC models as I fixed both a 960 and a Series Z that suffered this problem by re-greasing them and they have been reliable (a BIC reliable?!?) since. Great writeup, thanks for the help. I restored a bic 940 good as new thanks to this! Hi Ray.. I restore turntables as a hobby.. just completed 1 960, inc replacing the silicone damping fluid in the cuing shaft... however.. the 2nd 960 has a different type piston, with a smooth/round top instead of the notched top.. so no way to screw it free from the plastic piece under plinth.. do you know how to get this out, or have a copy of 960 service manual you could send me? thanks, Greg Probably can't get just one ball - try looking for an entire ball bearing assembly with about the same diameter and basic construction. Any high-quality bearing that would fit the spindle and washer should work. I have a BIC 980 that had a stuck turntable. Followed Ray Franklin's instructions and removed it...no problem. I found that the platter support ball-bearing was missing one ball. I need a source for such a bearing. Please help. Thanks for your time.... Carl I've got a BIC940 I bought in 1976 that has been collecting dust. I used your instructions, and it's up and running. Thanks! These directions were great. I was reviving an old 960 I had from the late 70's. Tried the WD-40 for a while, then took the rubber pad off and used a gear puller to get the platter off. Used lithium grease thinned with some 3-in-one oil to lubricate. Thanks again. You are a saint! Thank you for these invaluable instructions. thanks so much. just picked a pioneer sx-535 & a bic 960. the pioneer worked, the 960 didn't. after i got home, saw your post, i fixed the 960 in about an hour. my son got to see for the first time an LP play. all for the garage & all for $25. Not bad huh? i'm so proud! I have a Bic 60z and no owners manual. Could you please tell me the functions of this device. Bias, ect. Thank you, Bill. Hello again ray, i am not sure how this website works. Do i have to go in throught the bottom and take something off to get the aluminum platter off? Thanks again. My email is stevemarion007@verizon, Steve Hey Ray, Thanks a lot. i have a bic 980 from 1977, barely used. However, it is stuck, and i am trying to take it apart w/o success. i have removed the c ring, removed the rubber part, and put oil down the spindle, but the aluminum platter will not come off or up. What am i doing wrong and what do i need to do please? Thank you, Steve marion Excellent detailed description. Well done. picked up a BIC 960 for $2 at a rummage sale, it had a stuck platter, able to clean and lube the bearings as described, platter spins as brand new, new life for a vintage TT, thank you for the instructions! I used a product called "Veri-Kleen" that is a contact and metal cleaner designed for removing oils, grease, mold releases and accumulated dirt from precision electrical parts. I sprayed just a little and within one minute I lifted it straight up and off. Thanks, Ray. Good info and approach. I recently found an old BIC 981 buried among some old things and encountered the same problem (frozen spindle). WD40 didn't work for me, so I used a used a tap and mallet on the spindle while pulling up on the platter. Used lithium grease as a new lubricant. I found Ray's article to be very helpful especially in the disassembly and reassembly portions. Very detailed. However, the penetrating oil did not free my platter even after a week and tapping the spindle lightly with a hammer. I used 3 wood wedges (used for chair caning) about 60 degrees apart between the platter and the base. I firmly kept alternately hitting the wedges with a light plastic hammer until the platter loosened. The spindle was not damaged. I could see no other recourse other than making a wheel (platter) puller. Thanks Ray. The liquid wrench did not touch it. I used 3 wooden wedges and a light touch on a hammer to free the platter. Cleaned up nice, spins free. Good article. Very helpful.