1 - I'd replace them while you have it open, they're about 50% or less 2 - picture here shows the trick, good luck 3 - if you have an old time auto electric shop close, they'd likely have the brushes on the shelf and could do the job quickly
"When we tug a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world" ~ John Muir "When we tug a single thing on an old truck, we find it falls off" ~ me Some TF series details & TF heater pics