SkyView GoTo mount declination motor

I just purchased an Orion Skyview Pro 180 with the GoTo upgrade. After having many "toy" telescopes throughout my life, this is my first real one and it is the most exciting purchase I have made in a long, long time. Unfortunately though, the declination motor appears to be defective, just like the seller said it was. It ratchets and binds up when power is applied to it, whether it is installed on the computer or not. I thought it would be a simple matter of buying a new motor, but Orion will not sell me the motor because I am not the original purchaser. Any advice on how or where I can get a replacement motor?
Thanks, in advance, for any help I might receive here.

Charlie,

I would do two things simultaneously. Contact the seller and see, if he's the original purchaser, if he'd be willing to purchase a replacement motor on your behalf. Hopefully Orion will rethink what I and many others regard as a terrible policy.

I would also loosen the mounting screws holding the motor to the mount. There is lots of play in the way the SVP motors are mounted and you can move the motor around quite a bit to find the best mesh between all the drive gears.

If that doesn't solve your problem, I'd then suggest you find AstroBaby's website and look at adjusting the mesh between the worm and worm wheel. The good news is the adjustment is a simple, one-screw affair. The bad news is that it's also trial and error. You just have to try until you get it right. Too tight and the motor will at least be noisy and work too hard; at worst will bind and not move. Too loose and there will be sloppy movement due to backlash in the worm/ worm wheel mesh.

If that doesn't work, then I think you're back to finding a way to get a replacement motor from Orion.

Good luck.