SMC Discussion Areas

As some of you know, I bought this Scotsman Ice cooler a little while back. We want to incorporate the machine in a kitchen remodel we are doing this year, but it will need to be sanitary and operate quietly for the wife to accept it. So I am trying to determine what can be done to clean it up and get it running smoothly. I got some Nickel Safe Ice Machine cleaner from Grainger. I do not think I will do a repaint, but I will probably break it down and replace the insulation. Looks easy and I can probably use the rigid foam board insulation - right now I can see styrofoam board through access holes in the top half.

I've got the water reservoir out. A ton of calcium build-up in and on it. The float has a few pinholes in it and, instead of addressing the sinking float issue, someone decided to use caulk around the lid. All-in-all it is cleaning up nicely.

In the second picture below - on the bottom is the motor that drives the pulley
Above the motor is the speed reducer (with the big wheel) that is coupled with the freezer/augur assembly. It looks like I can change the oil in the speed reducer according to some info I have.
I can remove the motor and speed reducer from the machine easily enough, but the freezer/augur assembly is obvbiously connected to the compressor.

My question is on the freezer/augur assembly up top.
On the top of the freezer/augur assembly (third pic) is a ring pull (circled in blue), but it doesn't want to turn or pull easily. There are four bolts (yellow lines) that I can remove, which will allow me to remove a clamp/chute for the flaker. Will these bolts also release the ring pull?

In the manual I have, it says in the Maintenance section for Flakers to:
Check top bearing of freezing tube. Pry upward around edge of stamped brass cap. If moisture is around bearing, wipe up and remove grease. Add new grease. To replace cap, insert small wire under cap edge to vent air and remove when cap is on tight.
Now this manual is not specifically for my Scotsman model although many parts look very similar to the diagrams. Are they referring to the ring pull piece in my pic?

Any help is appreciated....thanks!

Looks like a fun project! My guess, the cap does just pull out per the manual.
A soak with PB for a week or so might help.
Creighton