Hello all...my rotor problem has been resolved..A few things learned in the process are....Before I even cracked the case I called Yaesu just in case the rotor was "totaled". I asked them how much is it for just a G5500 elevation rotor. They do not sell a single rotor! Why???, I asked, they did not know, that's what they were told from Japan. I am planning on writing to Japan for all the good it will do. After spending a few K on Yaesu products over the years I was a bit po. Anyway, took rotor apart cleaned, replaced bearings, packed them with good grease, replaced all the bolts with stainless steel hex head ones. Why they don't do that in the first place I do not understand. I soon discovered the root cause of the rotor problem, and I will take that information to the grave with me, far to embarrassing to even bring up in confession. My thanks to the many replies particularly from Dave KB1PVH, those links were invaluable. Lots of good information on the bb archive. from the embarrassing LRD compound 73 Bob W7LRD