(Topic ID: 262739)

Looking for tips for a playfield swap.

By wrd1972_PinDoc

4 years ago


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Topic Stats

  • 16 posts
  • 10 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 4 years ago by Completist
  • Topic is favorited by 4 Pinsiders

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    #1 4 years ago

    Okay I will be doing a PF swap for a Williams Whirlwind soon. I absolutely have the skills to do this, no issue there at all. I repair and restore pins on the side, but have never done a PF swap. I did just do a hardtop install on a Black Knight, but that was just the top side. What I would like to find out is some of your guys tips to help along during the process? Anything that can help the process in general.

    Do you basically unscrew everything on the bottom of the PF, and transfer it over to the new PF as a big jumbled mess. I will have two rotisseries to help out, that will be side by side.

    Thanks

    #2 4 years ago

    I'm sure Vid has a guide, but yeah it's up to you whether you want to do a jumbled mess, or unsolder a bunch of stuff.

    And hey whiulst you're there might as well tumble everything, and replace some old lamps and stuff like that

    #3 4 years ago

    Even with everything side by side, take pics as you go. The phone will ring, someone will stop by, the dog will poop on the rug...life happens and you’ll get interrupted.

    #4 4 years ago

    I labeled the underside items with colored sticky dots that I numbered. I put the same number on the part and the location for the part.
    Take lots of pictures.
    I used 4 long folding tables for the parts. Put them in order as you take off parts. Put them back on in reverse order.

    #5 4 years ago

    Great tips guys. Please keep them coming.

    #6 4 years ago

    It all depends on how carried away you want to get. If you do the big jumbled mess thing, your new playfield will have an underside as dirty as the old one.

    There are 3 harnesses on the underside...lamps, switches and coils. Disconnect each one individually, taking pics throughout the process. Lots easier putting everything back on than the big jumbled mess. How much you want to clean is up to you.

    There's also no need for 2 rotisserie's. If you think about it, the last stuff off the old playfield is the first stuff to go on the new.

    #8 4 years ago

    I like removing and tumbling all of the Mechs and installing those first. Depending on the amount of dirt in the wiring harness dictates the next step. Sometimes it’s driveway with mean green, sometimes dishwasher, sometimes it’s just a Rinse in the shop tub. You can generally wash everything with soap and water no problem, but watch out for the coil wrappers with degreasers.

    Doing everything in a big wad is doable but there’s always dirt in there, and you need to put new sleeves on all the coils anyway

    #9 4 years ago

    #1 take pictures of everything
    #2 start over and take pictures of everything again, just shifted. A post that you missed in the first round of pics will show up in these
    #3 remove harnesses. I personally left a few inches of wire on the coils and put molex connectors on them then they were easy to hook up right again
    #4 wash the harnesses in the dishwasher. This is amazing.
    #5 Clean everything in evaporust, simple green, an ultrasonic cleaner and a tumbler. I threw a hunk of mother's wax in with the corn. Everything came out beautiful and smelled good too.
    #6 take pictures of every mech as you remove, disassemble and clean them.
    #7 sort your newly polished nuts bolts and screws. You don't want to accidentally grab a long screw and drive it through the new playfield.
    #8 test switches as you go
    #9 tweak tweak tweak

    Are you by any chance using a mirco?

    #10 4 years ago

    I am NEVER attempting this.

    #11 4 years ago
    Quoted from Blackbeard:

    I am NEVER attempting this.

    You prefer to just swap the whole machine?

    #12 4 years ago
    Quoted from yaksplat:

    You prefer to just swap the whole machine?

    Basically!

    #14 4 years ago

    Well use it on a table/horses. I prefer sitting on the ground and slamming a bunch of beers, but damn it's much worse for the back!

    #16 4 years ago

    I’m in the middle of one right now. The most complex one i’ve tackled is BSD but i had a tonne of pics and everything went back together again np. I start with the tnuts - and my tip here is not to go too heavy with the hammering, especially if it is close to a through-hole. You can create a crack in the clear between two closely space holes, especially on a mirco. I preferred to create a jig that spread the force over a large area and drew the tnut in using a bolt from the topside.

    Make sure the clear is out of the way before putting a screw into it. The threads can catch the clear and lift it. Basically just be aware of the common things that can turn into “ah f...”

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