To Mod or Not To Mod . . . (Not really a question!)

RoombaHolic · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 97 Location: Mountain Center, CA

Well, it's been about two-and-a-half months since I first did Vic's Bearing Mod on my re-manufactured Scheduler. As the following pictures show, I had complete failure of the nylon gear shaft of the beater bar and partial failure of the brush gear shaft due to wear caused by the lousy design of the gears and housing after only three months of normal use. (What you can't see is the actual gears which became stripped at that point because they were no longer held in their proper position/alignment because of the wear and tear of the shafts.)

Even after only two-and-a-half months after the modification there is still damage to the square opening where the beater bar plugs into the shaft as shown in the third picture. I think this happens because the peg is a little smaller than the actual opening and causes both parts to wear down during normal operation of the Roomba. To help alleviate this problem in the future I'm going to try and use some type of shims on the edges of the square peg so it fits tighter in the opening.

As for whether or not to do Vis's Bearing Mod . . . I'll never let another Roomba leave it's docking base without it!!!!! :wink:

After First Three Months of Use

After Bearing Mod w/New Gears

Three Months After Bearing Mod

vic7767 · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 3287 Location: Louisiana

Glad to see successful applications of the ball bearing mod. Great work !

RoombaHolic · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 97 Location: Mountain Center, CA

vic7767 wrote: Glad to see successful applications of the ball bearing mod. Great work !
Believe me . . . the credit and success of this mod is completely on you! :wink:

Kroomba · Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 10

This looks very useful! - is this something you can supply as a kit for me across the pond?

Adam

vic7767 · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 3287 Location: Louisiana

If you send me a PM we can arrange something.

roombaracer · Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

His mod will change the way your roomba runs. The first cleaning mission after i received it back from him doing the mod it was clear that this is the way the roomba should have been made. Much more quiet and with no chance of getting anything in the gearbox. Thanks again !!!!

uphiearl · Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 27

N00bie here,
Where can I get the berring mod?
Also, I can do the factory test with a setial terminal, but I cant seem to get the roombastatus program to work. Only thing I see on serial port is ascii test stuff. my date code on bottom is 050921 and when in factory test its is 8-11-05
Does this mean I need to update firmware with the OSMB thingie or what ?
(BTW I am old man here ---Over 60 so take it easy on me)

vic7767 · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 3287 Location: Louisiana

Anything after July 05 should be 2.1 firmware and contain the Open Interface commands. Have you tried any other Roomba programs to test with.

If you are interested in the ball bearing mod send me a PM.

Astex · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 7 Location: South of Houston

I am thinking I need a not-in-warranty Roomba to try a mod on before tackling the other ones.

It might be time to visit Ebay and see what can be found.

Bridget