It looks like there are different opinions on this. If the plunger feels rough or gritty it should be rebuilt, not lubricated. How many of you knew this?
(Topic ID: 29766)
High Bridge, NJ
Agreed with Crash. I take them apart, use steel wool to get all the crap off, clean out the assembly, change out the springs and you're good to go. No lube needed usually
...but to take the question seriously.....no lube.
I would either try and clean it or just buy replacement parts (they are cheap enough). Even though it won't hurt the machine at that spot, I always keep any sprays/lube/oils away from the pins.
The general rule I've gotten from here about pinball machines and lube is:
Metal on metal = it's ok to lube, but metal on plastic = no lube.
You don't want a greesy shooter rod. All that metal dust is just going to stick to it like glue. The assembly just needs occasional cleaning. It is meant to operate smoothly without lubrication.
The plastic sleeve on coils and parts like the shooter is the lube. Lube oil is generally for metal on metal, etc.
Like Wolf and others mentioned that a general rule is Metal on metal = ok. You dont need much - just a drop on the assembly like slingshots. Metal on plastic = wrong.
There are certain things i lubricate. I use a 6in1 lubricant to clean and lubricate the shaft. That is about it
Data East/Sega/Stern ball shooter housing use a bronze bushing so that means metal-to-metal contact. Those MUST have occasional oiling.
Williams, Bally, and Gottlieb have a metal shooter rod going through a nylon sleeve. No oil here. Clean the sleeve out with lighter fluid on a cotton swab. Then polish the shooter rod with either Brasso or chrome polish.
I sprayed a shot of WD-40 on my shooter rod and then wiped it off. Much smoother action and bounce. I guess when WD-40 stops working in a couple years I'll spend the time to completely disassemble the shooter rod and replace the $0.75 sleeve.
A
Quoted from S37VEN:I sprayed a shot of WD-40 on my shooter rod and then wiped it off. Much smoother action and bounce. I guess when WD-40 stops working in a couple years I'll spend the time to completely disassemble the shooter rod and replace the $0.75 sleeve.
and when the WD40 fumes catch on fire...
Quoted from KenLayton:Data East/Sega/Stern ball shooter housing use a bronze bushing so that means metal-to-metal contact. Those MUST have occasional oiling.
Williams, Bally, and Gottlieb have a metal shooter rod going through a nylon sleeve. No oil here. Clean the sleeve out with lighter fluid on a cotton swab. Then polish the shooter rod with either Brasso or chrome polish.
That is what I do.
LTG : )
I have heard in the past that operators would lube things to keep them moving instead of rebuilding them, but it is just a temporary thing and will end up gumming up anyway. Sort of like throwing saw dust in an engine so it runs smoother. Obviously not a good idea, but it will run smoother for a bit 
Quoted from LouMatt:I have heard in the past that operators would lube things to keep them moving instead of rebuilding them,
In the good old days. Probably. How much rebuilding are you going to do in a busy location ?
Keep them going, and pull into the shop for an over haul before going to the next location.
LTG : )
Quoted from LTG:In the good old days. Probably. How much rebuilding are you going to do in a busy location ?
Keep them going, and pull into the shop for an over haul before going to the next location.
LTG : )
No argument here!
I do. I use the same teflon grease (super lube) I use on EM steppers. VERY lightly. So light that if you touched it you probably wouldn't notice. The action is super smooth and I've never seen it attract gunk.
No lube. Clean everything well, replace the sleeve and put the rod on my 6 inch bench buffer with a little polishing compound. Buff it out to a mirror shine. In a home use situation it should be a looong time before any other maintence is needed.
1 week later
I just polish the shooter rod real nice and clean the pins that have the cast bronze bushing and everything seems to work just fine.
Quoted from the_pin_family:No lube. Clean everything well, replace the sleeve and put the rod on my 6 inch bench buffer with a little polishing compound. Buff it out to a mirror shine. In a home use situation it should be a looong time before any other maintence is needed.
Exactly.
Had a B/W game still dragging with a new sleeve...a few minutes on the bench-top buffer with some green rouge and now it's like day one.
Nice and shiny too.
Didcot
Maglód
4 years later
I'm not sure what you all are talking about when you say a nylon sleeve. My walking dead premium's plunger has this brass looking thing on the outside, does that mean my sleeve is metal, or would there be a nylon sleeve inside of the plunger still?
If this is a metal sleeve, what kind of oil/lubricant should I use? WD-40 sounds like a bad idea because of the fumes and also because it is a degreaser and not a lubricant I've heard.
Thanks .
Quoted from stoptap:I wouldn't use graphite powder on Oilite.
We don't use phosphor bronze bushes so graphite on our shooter rods works fine.
I would also suspect that graphite will work equally well on shooter rods with nylon sleeves.
7 years later
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