I used my Makita cordless drill for the first time in a while recently
and it started smoking from the vents in the housing. I have noticed
it do this briefly when I have just started to use it on one or two
occasions before but it has settled down and I assumed that it was
some dust being burnt off or something. This time was different in
that I had already drilled a couple of holes and done a bit of driving
with it. I wasn't doing anything particularly onerous at the time but
I stopped as soon as I saw the smoke. I then tried to run it without
any load - in free air - and it continued to smoke, showing no sign of
stopping, so I stopped and put it away. I assume there is some
problem now with the motor. What is the most likely problem and is it
repairable? Is it something I could do myself and if not would it be
worth getting it repaired? It is about 7 years old and has had a fair
but not excessive amount of use and is generally in decent nick (other
than this problem of course).

Thanks

Bob