Often, the machine wouldn't shake at all until I banged on the bottom of the cabinet (beneath the shaker motor), or opened it up to spin the weights around a few times.
Somewhere I read that the briushes are the same as Ford Escort starter motor brushes. So I ordered some (I figured 1985, since that's the machine's date). Well, they don't fit at all. Not even close.
So I found a place online selling Earthshaker motor brush kits (Steve Young's Pinball Resource). The kit includes two brushes already mounted in the housings with springs and everything.
Getting the shaker motor out was a more difficult job than I thought. I knew that sucker had to be in there pretty good or it would have shaken itself loose by now, but the housing is very tight, with a bar across the top, and two metal sides. I basically unscrewed everything that could be unscrewed (including the weights, held on with counter-sunk allen screws). After about an hour, I had the motor out.
Before I replaced the brushes, I checked the old ones. One was pretty badly worn, but the other was fine. Upon further inspection, I noticed a bent lead on the worn brush. The brush had been jammed up against the commutator by this lead. Simply unbending it allowed the spring to pull the brush back, and it seemed there was plenty of brush left.
I figured I'd just clean and reinstall, but I knew the brushes (one at least) was going to wear out soon, so I installed quick connect terminals to the motor and the lead wires. Now, when I need to replace the brushes, I can just disconnect the leads, pop out the brushes and put the replacements in!
Here it is, after installing the quick disconnects. They've held for a few months now, so I think it'll be OK:
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