TECH: Cleaning Steppers

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

Do you ever put 'light oil' anywhere on a stepper in the backbox? If so, where? Or, after you clean it, are you suppose to run in totally 'dry.' Mine don't always step up to the solenoid's pulse (but the solenoid always DOES pulse when it should).

And, if you put lithium grease where the wipers run across, aren't you actually interfering with the conductivity at the contact locations even if you are making it run more smoothly?

Thanks,
--- Rob

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

NO LITHIUM!!! Or oil for that matter on the stepper wheel. It'll gum up
with dust and just make things worse in the long run. Nothing on the
contacts either.. Just clean them w/ sandpaper /contact file. If it's
still not stepping right take it apart & clean the whole thing. Also
check the tension of the main sprocket spring. You may have to adjust
it. Don't forget to count how many times you unwind it. Hope this
helps.

The rule of thumb is if you aren't sure what to oil/ grease then don't!
Most things are meant to run dry on pins.

Chas
http://home.comcast.net/~corvair/

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

I would suggest you pick up the video This Old Pinball TOP#1, or #2 or
#6.
Any of those show how to lube a stepper unit, and what product to use
for the lube. Or you could go to http://marvin3m.com/em/index1.htm

Robert Myers wrote:
> Do you ever put 'light oil' anywhere on a stepper in the backbox? If so, where? Or, after you clean it, are you suppose to run in totally 'dry.' Mine don't always step up to the solenoid's pulse (but the solenoid always DOES pulse when it should).
>
> And, if you put lithium grease where the wipers run across, aren't you actually interfering with the conductivity at the contact locations even if you are making it run more smoothly?
>
> Thanks,
> --- Rob

 

[Del]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

The rule of thumb is if you aren't sure what to oil/ grease then don't!

Most things are meant to run dry on pins.

IF its a "Bingo" , Clutchs need to be oiled for smooth operation ,
Contacts ?, File only & then be "Light" on it , Brasso to polish the
Brass, Keep it Clean & you should be OK =).



Pin-Del,

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

you lube any metal to metal points (very lightly). You can put a very
thin film of teflon grease (radioshack sells it) on the contacts/wipers
(if you can see the grease, you have too much on. LIGHTLY is the key
word here)

Don't put any oil product anywhere near the plungers - they will gum up
with the heat of the coil and you'll get a sticky mess. Best thing to
do is rebuild the unit now, it will last several years after being
rebuilt trouble free.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

You have to lube those buttons but very lightly. Back in the day, we
would use 10W motor oil and wipe almost all of it off. These days, I
use Teflon grease and wipe off all but a light film. Also use the
Teflon lube on the axle. If you run these buttons dry, they will stick
and grind each other into dust. If you can't find Teflon Grease
locally, I have it on my site:
http://www.pinrestore.com/Supplies.html

bogart
www.pinrestore.com

 

[frenchy]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

<<The rule of thumb is if you aren't sure what to oil/ grease then
don't!
Most things are meant to run dry on pins. >>

A more precise rule of thumb is that if one or both of the contact
points is plastic (plunger, drop target), it should almost always run
dry since the plastic is nylon and is made to run without lube. Metal
to metal almost always is lubed unless it's something with a
non-rotating pivot where there is essentialy no friction, like a relay
armature. The pin companies always recommended light oil film on
stepper contacts, these should not be run dry and there are lots of
worn-thru contacts out there to prove it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 18:35:02 -0400, Robert Myers <rsmyers@rogers.com> wrote:
> Do you ever put 'light oil' anywhere on a stepper in the backbox?

I don't.

> Or, after you clean it, are you suppose to run in totally 'dry.'

Some do. I don't. Any metal-to-metal moving point gets a little bit of
lubrication. Use the teflon grease that Clay recommends. Use as little
of it as possible.


--
| David Gersic http://www.zaccaria-pinball.com |
| You're too unstable to understand yourself, much less calculus. |
| Email address is a spam trap. Visit the web site for contact info. |

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

hey Scot, so I guess WD-40 is out huh?

stevebo


On 13 Jul 2005 14:20:19 -0700, "bogart" <pinrestore@gmail.com> wrote:

>You have to lube those buttons but very lightly. Back in the day, we
>would use 10W motor oil and wipe almost all of it off. These days, I
>use Teflon grease and wipe off all but a light film. Also use the
>Teflon lube on the axle. If you run these buttons dry, they will stick
>and grind each other into dust. If you can't find Teflon Grease
>locally, I have it on my site:
>http://www.pinrestore.com/Supplies.html
>
>bogart
>www.pinrestore.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (More info?)

I can't think of anything WD-40 is IN for!

Rusty leg levelers, MAYBE. Even then, Tri-Flow is much better!

bogart
www.pinrestore.com

Steve C wrote:
> hey Scot, so I guess WD-40 is out huh?
>
> stevebo
>
>
> On 13 Jul 2005 14:20:19 -0700, "bogart" <pinrestore@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>You have to lube those buttons but very lightly. Back in the day, we
>>would use 10W motor oil and wipe almost all of it off. These days, I
>>use Teflon grease and wipe off all but a light film. Also use the
>>Teflon lube on the axle. If you run these buttons dry, they will stick
>>and grind each other into dust. If you can't find Teflon Grease
>>locally, I have it on my site:
>>http://www.pinrestore.com/Supplies.html
>>
>>bogart
>>www.pinrestore.com
>
>