Palm sander does not orbit

[Gregg]

My Dewalt 421 palm sander does not orbit anymore. What is the problem? I took it apart and cleaned it and found a thin steel shim that was torn. Is that the problem? I cannot find it in the parts list.
thanks, Gregg

[Mark]

Hi Gregg,

I would suspect that the problem is a bearing failure. Either the pad bearing or the lower armature bearing. The shim you saw was probably actually one of the bearing shields that fell off when the bearing failed. To repair your sander you will need to find the bad bearing and replace it.

Good luck with your repair!

-Mark