I have this elliptical: Proform XP 110. I really enjoyed using it but as it aged, louder and louder sounds began to emanate from the housing. There are some loosening bits of the machine that are not hurting its function but the sound seems to reverberate in the housing and it makes it impossible to watch Star Wars while burning off the calories.
Is it feasible to apply soundproofing material to the inside of it to disrupt the sound? If so, what, preferably cheap, materials might you suggest?
What about taking it apart (or at least the side panels) and putting some kind of lubrication on various parts in the machine?
The first question is - what’s making the noise?
If something’s squeaking, lubrication may help, so long as it’s not some sort of sealed bearing and if you have the right lube.
If something’s loose, tighten it.
Sometimes, perceived noise is just the natural noise of the machine finding a resonance in the enclosure. A product like Dynamat (popular with car stereo installers) may help, but it’s not inexpensive.
Some other (cheap) ideas if tightening and lubing don’t work.
1 - Duct tape, seriously, wrap/secure any vibrational parts with the tape. Have someone workout while you listen and feel for vibration in the housing. Damps out the sound.
2 - Low expansion insulation foam. Use carefully (i.e. don’t gum up all the works). It will seal gaps in the housing and stop the vibration.
3 - If on a bare floor, use a relatively heavy/dense rubber mat to decouple from the floor. A slight loosening of the components of the elipitical might have been enough to excite the floor locally.
Go inside and tighten all those parts you say are loosening. Anything that rattles the cover will resonate and make a lot of noise from a tiny item. That’s about all it can be. It needs maintenance to bring it back to where it was.
I’ll have to take another look at it. The first time I took it apart I could see that the disc driven by a belt was either loose or warping a bit, but I could see no obvious way to tighten it to reduce the sound. Anyway the memory is vague (I did this last Summer) and I’ll be inside it again if I try anything.
Thanks for the foam idea as well as the other suggestions. The Dynamat is well beyond my price range, but the foam and tape might help quite a bit.