Grizzly G0769 power feed issue

[bionicback321]

I have a 4-year-old G0769 lathe/mill that I bought this summer (from the original owner). I'm a novice when it comes to metal lathes, although I've been using a woodworking lathe for about 30+ years. Yesterday when I went to engage the power feed, using the direction knob, I heard a thunk from the general location of the gearbox and the longitudinal leadscrew did not start turning. I removed the gearbox cover (I know, I should have looked at the end gears first) thinking that something happened to the direction selector, but it looked ok. So, I greased it up and reinstalled the cover. Upon removing the end cover I found that the pivot arm had been kicked forward about 1/4" and the 84T gear was no longer in contact with the 40T spindle gear. Ther was always a certain amount of rattle or clatter from the gears and being new to this machine I was not sure what was normal. I've searched for some sort of instructions or video on how to adjust the interface between the headstock gear and the power feed gear assy., but all the manual says is to "Swing the adjuster up and mesh the 84T gear with the spindle gear and secure the adjuster cap screw". If I push the pivot arm back until it stops the noise it makes is rather unpleasant when running at normal speeds. If I position it to where the 40T and 84T are making light, but positive, contact I can run it up to the top of the speed range (50 - 1000). All of this has been said to ask, "what is the correct way to set the power feed to spindle gear interface"? The manual is of no help, and I have not been able to find a video on the subject. I do plan on ordering all new bushings as the 84T gear is a little wobbly (which is where I think the rattling noise is coming from. I'm also going to have a look at the threaded shaft that the bushing spins on. If there are any Grizzly G0768 or G0769 owners out there that can provide any words of wisdom, or a link to a useful video, I would appreciate it. At the end of the day, I don't know what kicked the pivot arm out (the power feed had been working fine) and it seems to be working ok now (I didn't find any damaged teeth), I just want to make sure I have it set up correctly.

 

[markba633csi]

Straight cut gears tend to be a bit noisy. And the pivot arm was probably just loose.
Some folks use a piece of paper between the gears to set the spacing. I'm too lazy for that. I just push them all the way together then
separate them slightly and tighten.

 

[bionicback321]

I just push them all the way together, then separate them slightly and tighten.

Sounds like a very sensible course of action. I'm hoping new bushings will tamp down some of the rattle (and if it doesn't, they're only a couple of bucks).

 

[ChazzC]

Is there a “reasonable” amount of grease on the gear teeth? Metal-to-metal contact makes more noise.

 

[markba633csi]

Synthetic Arcturian mayonaise works well

 

[ChazzC]

Synthetic Arcturian mayonaise works well

That stuff oils out almost as badly as white lithium grease: I use Super Lube grease.