CAUT

A 2008 Yamaha T118 PE in polished ebony has developed a sustain pedal squeak (see attachment). I tuned it a month ago, and the problem wasn't there. 

It doesn't always happen the first time the pedal is pushed down. It happens even before the pedal is all the way down, and also happens on the way up. None of the other pedals make noise. 

It happens when I grab the pedal rod and lift up, which seems to eliminate everything below the keyboard. I'm trying to think of what cabinet part is being flexed by this action.

With the action pulled, it makes no noise, eliminating it.

This cabinet may have been disassembled and refinished. I've tightened every screw I can find without pulling it away from the wall or tilting it, which is my next thought.

The fact that it happens even on the release of the pedal means that a very small force can cause it.

--Cy-- 

P.S. I hate the combined fallboard/front panel, without even a metal support to help lift the thing out...

I've come across this a few times, not just on this model but other Yamahas as well. Sometimes, if the problem is not obvious, it may come from the misalignment of the block that hold the long screw connector in place.

See the following picture, which I pulled off Google and marked up. The piece I'm talking about is on the underside of the pedal itself, out of view. If you push down near where the finger nuts are, you can use your other hand to reposition the block. I've found that often solves the problem.

For the record, I hate having to open the T118 too. There's not really an easy way to do it. 

I have found a squeak in a U1 where the brass rod that swings out to push the dampers turns in its bushings. A little protek eliminated it. 

Hi Cy,

Perhaps it is the action bracket sockets rubbing against the rounded bolt head they sit on. Try some Protek MPL-1 on these joints.

It really sounds like the bottom board to me though in your video. I have encountered that several times on both Yamaha and Kawai pianos.

Hold upward pressure with one hand under the pedals or wedge something under there and try operating the pedal. 

I realize you operated the pedal rod thus eliminating the pedal from the equation but I think the case can still torque under this condition.

Along the same line as Doug, I was just reading this and thought about the action bracket(s).  Grab hold of the bottom portion of each bracket and pull on it to see if perhaps the stud / bracket is loose.  I often see this.  If it's loose, turn the stud up a little bit.  Also, if the studs are attached to small wooden blocks, be sure to check the screws for tightness.

These are great suggestions. Since it doesn't happen with the action out, I've been trying to figure out where the upward force from the pedal rod might travel. The rounded bolts that the action brackets sit on are indeed supported by wooden brackets, and those bolts were loose. I hadn't thought of friction between the round bolts and the bottom of the brackets, because it does sound like a cabinet noise. I'll try lubricating and also raising them a bit to add pressure.

I'm curious about the interface of the top of the action brackets and the horizontal bolts they hook on to. The bracket is an open vertical "U", and the bolt has two straight sides, but on this piano, the straight sides are parallel to the floor on both bolts. Wouldn't it make sense to turn the bolts 90º so the flat sides of the "U" can slide onto the flat sides of the bolts?

--Cy-- 

Does that bad boy have the metal tubing for the pedal rods ? I think I had the same problem and had a fix I will research my files - I believe I had a call back after I tuned it which was a few years ago.