I recently disassembled, cleaned, and re-assembled the drop target banks on a Quick Draw. I'm now having a hell of a time getting them to drop with a good "snap" motion like they should. Sometimes when the ball hits them they only drop part of the way and cause the motor to just keep turning and the chime to continually go off as it keeps scoring until I push it down. It's doing this on a couple of targets on each bank.

I am wondering if I stretched out the springs too much when I was taking the old targets out to clean them? Would new springs solve the issue and, if so, should I get both the short and long springs? Which one is responsible for pulling it downward (presumably the longer one)?

I have tried adjusting the switches so they don't put as much tension on the metal arm under each target when it falls and that has helped some. Would appreciate guidance.

Thanks!

Mark

#2 5 years ago

???

Stoomer

Inactive member

Binghamton, NY

8y 29,650 308

I doubt it's the springs...that's happened to me many times after cleaning up a DT bank. Did you lube the part of the switch blades that the metal actuator arm slides along?

That and the tension, which you've already addressed, are what I remember causing this more than anything...but I could be forgetting something. It's been a while since I did any 70s games...

Sean

#3 5 years ago

AAB

leckmeck

Pinside member

Afton, MN

13y 70,150 1,000 24

When you installed the springs, did you distinguish between the two kinds? The stronger spring is for pulling the target down when it is struck by the ball. The weaker spring is for pulling the target forward so it sits squarely atop the bank when it resets.

#4 5 years ago

MFS

goldenboy232

Pinside member

Alamo Heights, TX

9y 79,300 1,816 4 15

Quoted from leckmeck:
When you installed the springs, did you distinguish between the two kinds? The stronger spring is for pulling the target down when it is struck by the ball. The weaker spring is for pulling the target forward so it is flush atop the bank when it resets.

Yes, one is significantly longer than the other, so I only removed the one spring (the short ones) needed to get the targets out of the unit. But, because I was moving the bottom plate around so much at times, I wonder if I stretched out the long springs too much. Any suggestions? I could just buy new springs...

#5 5 years ago

AAB

leckmeck

Pinside member

Afton, MN

13y 70,150 1,000 24

Did you polish and lube the long blade against which the metal actuator wipes? A Dremel with a wire wheel will polish them smooth, then a dab of Super Lube will make things slide nicely.

#6 5 years ago

???

Playdium

Pinside+ Frequent

Barnstable, MA

10y 82,550 2,162 6 2

New triggers and targets? The triggers and target shaft may be oxidized. Did you clean and polish that as well? A-517 spring for bottom, A-12178 for top. (Page 15 Gottlieb 1978 Manual)

#7 5 years ago

LSW

Runbikeskilee

Pinside member

8y 43,150 722 10

Springs stretched out on "all" the targets? Maybe or maybe not, but does not sound likely that all have un-elastically stretched at once.

Have you checked to make sure the target bank is positioned such that the shafts are not rubbing against the slot in the playfield? Usually, I find there is a little play when reattaching the target bank to the underside of the playfield, such that one can adjust positioning of the bank fore-aft by 1 or 2 mm.

In my games, I usually find that the cause of a target not dropping all the way is often (maybe 70%) due to the pressure of one of the switches bearing against the slider too strongly.

#8 5 years ago

MJA

Mitch

Pinside member

Wellesley, ON

10y 131K 5,030 18 38

did you center the mechanism properly when screwing it to the playfield?

#9 5 years ago

MFS

goldenboy232

Pinside member

Alamo Heights, TX

9y 79,300 1,816 4 15

Great advice — I’ll check all of the above and report back.

#10 5 years ago

???

pmdub

Inactive member

Downingtown, PA

7y 17,550 49

Another thing to check for is to make sure the reset bar is under proper tension to go back to it's proper position after a target reset. I have had problems with reset bars slowly moving back or not moving back at all due to lack of tension / broken spring. If the reset bar doesn't get completely out of the way after the reset, the targets can get blocked from going down properly.

#11 5 years ago

FRB

frb

Pinside+ Frequent

11y 57,150 412

I find that by adjusting the contacts on the drop to where they barely make contact helps. It seems the switches do get stiff with age.

#12 5 years ago

TOD

newmantjn

Pinside member

11y 67,400 1,496 41 9

99/100 the switch is adjusted too tight to the arm. Back it out, even to the point of not touching. Also, sometimes I'll put some of the teflon lube used on steppers at that interface. i.e. between the arm and the switch stack.

#13 5 years ago

MFS

goldenboy232

Pinside member

Alamo Heights, TX

9y 79,300 1,816 4 15

Thanks guys I’ll report back.

Promoted items from Pinside Marketplace and Pinside Shops!

$ 12.00

Tools

Flipper Align Pro - Electro-Mechanical (EM) 5.0 Degree

Nezzy's Pinball Prints

From: $ 3.00

Cabinet - Other

Switch Cover, power switch and plate fits various Gottlieb

Space Coast Pinball

Hey modders!

Open a free Shop and start selling on Pinside

Your shop name here

Reply

Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

Donate to Pinside

Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!

This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sloppy-gtb-drop-targets-what-to-do?hl=runbikeskilee and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.