Hi, I have a relatively new chinese 2kW, water-cooled spindle motor which has developed a bearing squeak. It is also drawing air in over night every time I use it.

By adding an low pressure air line to the water circuit ( having eliminated the pump and heat-exchanger ), I have determined that there is an air leak in the motor. I suspect this also means that there is a water leak and that this may be the origin of the bearing problem.

The motor probably has something like 10h of service time , though I purchased it about 3y ago so cannot return against the supplier.

It worked fine until recently when I started to notice an intermittent slightly dry sounding squeak when running. It definitely sounds like a dry/worn bearing.

The supplier claimed they used German made bearings , we'll see whether that is true.

Does anyone have any experience/tips/info on stripping down these motors?

Thanks.

For information, this looks identical , though it is not the actual supplier I used.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32846880341.html