Location: Henderson, Colorado
Symptom: Turntable speed too slow

One of the most common problems of Rockola jukeboxes from the mid-1950’s through the 1980’s, is the turntable not turning at the correct speed. This is almost always associated with the old rubber grommets that hold the turntable motor.

Height comparison of new turntable motor grommet with old grommet.

The turntable motor basically hangs from three of these grommets.  As the grommets age, they get dry and brittle and shrink and the motor gradually sinks.  I assume the weight of the motor is not evenly distributed among the three grommets because it seems like 2 out of the 3 are in worse shape. This causes the motor to tilt and the shaft is no longer aligned properly.

This photo only shows two of the grommets, but you can see that rear grommet is more compressed. The motor has already been removed.

What’s worse is that many of these jukeboxes are designed to play 33 RPM records. The motor shaft has two milled diameters, the bottom one is for 45 RPM and the top one is for 33 RPM records. As the motor sinks, the idler wheel begins to ride on the 33 RPM portion of the shaft.

Generally these grommets are easy to replace. The motor will be mounted in a variety of ways depending on the jukebox, most using screws or shafts with spring “E” clips. One source for new grommets is here.