"Experts"
Exactly. Look. If you're a novice, and everyone's telling you just to buy a new motor... just TRY to fix your old motor. Worst case scenario, you screw it up and need a new motor, which you already needed, so no great loss. And best case, you fix it just fine, and saved yourself the cost of a new motor.
And succeed or fail, you learn something in the process, making you a better human being.