Here is an excerpt on electric lawn mower motors that I found in the February 1967 issue of Popular Science: ELECTRICS HAVE THE POWER (written by Jackson Hand) "If you're one of those who tend to think electric mowers are kind of puny, think again. Typically, a good electric has a universal motor rated at about one to 1.5 hp. Universal motors run at about 15,000 RPM or so, as is done in the Lawn Boy, the Thor, and the single-blade Sunbeams, and you get three things: a) Power. The high-load torque of such mowers equals that of at least three-hp gasoline burning engines.; b) Minimized slowdown under load; and c) Quick stop of the blade when you turn the switch off - an important safety feature. Twin-blade mowers such as Black & Decker and two Sunbeam models have belts instead of gears to reduce motor speed and provide equivalent power. Black & Decker models have flat belts, fiberglass reinforced, that operate without overheating at high speeds. Sunbeam uses toothed timer belts, necessary because the side-by-side blades must be synchronized so they don't hit each other. (The Black & Decker blades are staggered.) Since blade-tip speed is an important factor in safety, held to 21,000 (now 19,000) feet per minute by the industry's safety code, these gear-downs serve the double function of bringing lightweight electric motors into efficient power range and of reducing blade speed to a point where hard objects thrown by the blade are less likely to be lethal." ~Ben

Crawdog Thanks for the information. I took the motor off today and will head to the auto parts store. I did not want to pay for the replacement kit (includes mounting bracket)at 230 dollars. Thanks again

My guess is that it won't make a big enough difference. We ended up moving ours to an outside unit and making that furnace area into a closet. We couldn't hear anything with that thing running.

Sounds like a "universal" type motor. Worn brushes is my first best guess. An internal short in the armature is evidenced by excessive sparking at the brushes, odor and reduced speed. Testing for internal shorts on the armature requires a "growler" and disassembly of the motor.