I would take the motor off of the saw and take it to motor rewind shop and have them check it out. Smoke coming out of it is not a good sign. It does sound like at the very least it needs new bearings. Have it checked out first.

 

leaking smoke

The motor shop is the place to start but that's a cheap motor. May cost more to fix than replace. It's important to remember They only put some much smoke inside electric equipment. If you let it leak out your device may never work again.:cray:

 

It's important to remember They only put so much smoke inside electric equipment. If you let it leak out your device may never work again.:cray:

Funny!!

 

Try some nicorette,

 

Having the motor cleaned or even replacing it sounds cheap compared to burning down your shop.

 

Status update - no more smoke. Blew the accumulated sawdust out of the motor and hit it with some tuner cleaner. Runs fine without overheating (unloaded). Will keep an eye on it once it gets back into production.

I suspect the centrifugal switch had gotten stuck - and once it was cleared, no more smoke.