I'm sure it's something that can be adjusted. Maybe a slight bend up will fix it.

LOTR LE's arent 8 years old. They were run just a couple years back. And yes this most likely was a QC error. No way a ball guide could be bent like that during normal play. Still most likely an easy fix though.

+1 for sure.....looking at the pic again it sure doesnt look like there are any screws under the tip of that ball guide. Just use moderate pressure and I bet you will get it lined up not problem.

I would attempt to do it while in the machine. As long as you dont use too much pressure i'm sure it will be ok. Plus with it still in the machine you will be able to see when you have it in the right position.

I'd try getting your hand in there and see if pushing it up with your thumb you can feel if there is anything holding down the tip. If not you should be golden. Actually sounds like way too much work to try n get a new ball guide & take everything off & install it if its something that can be bent easily.

I dont think it could be installed like this if it had a post going into the playfield. Just looks like it must have gotten tweaked while being installed.

Hmmmm thats unfortunate. I bet the 1st thing Stern Suggests is to try bending it too.....They may send a tech out to take a look at it.

The cannon on my BIBLE was a little low and the ball would not travel under it when it was swung open. Wanna guess what I had to do in order to get the proper clearance needed....lol

Ya I guess Jan 2011 may put it out of warranty. I Still think bending it is pretty much the best option. Just need to find something u can use that gives you a little more leverage to bend it. Looks like it may been to be bent only like 1/4".

I think filling the hole sounds like a good option. You could always use the old jam a couple toothpicks in the existing hole and screw the guide down in the proper spot.

When I bought my SM in 07' the ball guide that looped around just above the upper flipper was not installed correctly kind of in the same manner as what happened to your LOTR. It was lined up so a ball would bounce off the base of the flipper making it impossible to make the left ramp. I just moved it over a lil and have never had an issue since then and it's not visable at all.

Glad you figured out what's wrong with it and it isn't too hard to fix.

While you have that sucker opened up I'd put some dead foam on that upper saucer kickoff. I used to get ball rejects about every other hard shoot to that tower.