I bought 3 269 oz steppers from AutomationDirect. They worked great in the beginning, but then they sat for a couple of months and seem to be binding now. They seemed to turn just fine except for 1/8th of the revolution. They still turn, but it definetly makes a different noise, and is much tougher to turn. I haven't tried them under power yet. At first only one of the three was like that. I took it apart (I know, only have the power now, but I figure it's ruined anyway) and couldn't see anything wrong with it. The bearing was just fine, and the shaft didn't seem bent at all. The weird thing is that a couple days after getting it all out and together, another motor randomly did the same thing. So now I am out two of the motors. Are these things really any good? They don't even have a 30 minutes of run time on them, so I can definetly rule out over-use. Did I short them out or something? Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure they are ruined, I'd just like to know why and how and be aware for next time.