Makita drill repair

[Muncher]

This is probably one for those slightly electronically minded (or at least those who have pulled power tools apart!).

My Makita 2470T SDS drill has taken an awful lot of abuse over the last 3 years and I've certainly had my money's worth from it. Last weekend I noticed a few sparks coming from the motor assembly and it started to make an odd noise and was distinctly down on power.

The brushes have worn 3mm, down from 16mm and there is a bit of wear on the armature, but I've no idea if it's significant or not. I spoke to the Makita repair centre and they said it was probably the armature but they also asked whether I had it serviced before (my car has barely been serviced in that time!). They said they would do a free quote to repair it and it would be about £50. The problem is if that is plus VAT and I have to pay to post it there and then they charge to ship it back I'm not far off the cost of buying a new one.

It seems a shame to bin it so the other option is buying a new armature for £25. The question is from the looks of this, does it need it?

[CoolHands]

yes it looks pretty burnt. If its only 25 quid I'd buy it and new brushes and give it a go. As you say probably not worth sending to makita. If new armature doesn't help you can probably flog drill on ebay and get 20 quid back to cover your cost.

[Alucidnation]

I wouldn't waste my time trying to repair it.

If you don't need the interchangeable chuck, you could pick up a 2450 for about £120.

However, if you do still want to try, ebay have some new spares listed.

[Muncher]

I do need the interchangeable chuck unfortunately. I will buy a new armature and stick that in and see if it fixes it I think.

[ianrb]

Normally the brushes take all the wear and tear, so I would just clean up the armature with some contact cleaner and bung in a new set of brushes.

[ianrb]

Normally the brushes take all the wear and tear, so I would just clean up the armature with some contact cleaner and bung in a new set of brushes.

[Dogwatch]

ianrb said:

Normally the brushes take all the wear and tear, so I would just clean up the armature with some contact cleaner and bung in a new set of brushes.

My thoughts too. Armature profile doesn't look very worn - just dirty.

[roofer]

Clean armature With emery cloth and run hacksaw blade down slots. New brushes and it'll be fine. Used to restore dynamos when I left school, and that was the successful method.

[CorradoTDI]

It's a bit burnt but deffo worth ago just changing the brushes, genuine Makita ones are cheap as chips on eBay.

I did similar with a Bosch sander a while ago and it's been fine - just be careful what you use to clean the armature - nothing too abrasive, you want it new looking but not scratched.

[Muncher]

I replaced the brushes in all my drills and impact drivers, but the SDS drill is still doing the same think, sparks and an odd noise, so I will replace the armature.

[Muncher]

Replaced the armature for about £30 and it works perfectly now

[singlecoil]

I hadn't realised this was a rush job. Could it not have waited a few more months?

[ColinM50]

SC, he bought a roundtuit at the same time as the armature and has just got roundtuit

[Muncher]

singlecoil said:

I hadn't realised this was a rush job. Could it not have waited a few more months?

I bought the armature back in March but hadn't got round to swapping it as I didn't need the drill and had loads of other things on.

[Muncher]

Looks like the armature has failed again after a heavy session of using a box cutter in dense block.

[singlecoil]

Makita stuff is usually very reliable, I have a number of their tools. It could be that the gearbox is faulty and it's overloading the motor.

[dazwalsh]

Muncher said:

Looks like the armature has failed again after a heavy session of using a box cutter in dense block.

I had my trusty makita 2470 nicked along with most of my tools and had to buy replacements that day for a time critical refurb. i went and bought the sttiest thing i could find from screwfix, a similar sized titan something or other.

I still have the thing 3 years on, its indestructable and cost me 39 quid. infact i still have the titan 5.5kg sds too that only set me back £69, i had planned on replacing them as they gave up but they are still going strong. worth a look

[chasingracecars]

My two month old Makita Cordless Hammer drill is stuck in Hammer mode. Can't get the chuck off annoyingly.

Makita need it for a week. Its my main work tool, it currently works in hammer mode fine. Would be good to have it working properly again. Can't see the point in having a spare when the last one lasted three years. This one is higher rated to!