I think my Pro also suffers from this - have you gotten resolution?

rockfantasyman

Is there one correct fix for the van diverter digging into the ramp? I’ve read a bunch of different stuff. I can’t tell if I am supposed to disassemble the whole game or put a pad on it…or both.

I am annoyed to find out mine is doing this :/.

Fixes left outlane. Same as right outlane now. Used a Siamese starpost. Marcos sells them.

EDIT: as mbrave77 pointed out the toothpick is my measure, not a permanent barrier. But now you have me thinking......

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I have done a lot of these and use them on a route…I’ve never seen anything like that! Like everyone said, for home use, you don’t really have to worry. Wonder if something happened in transit?

I own deadpool. And I know the Katana ball guide needs a washer underneath to protect the playfield from chipping.

As per advice with turtles from people like @prodoshi to protect the lair ball guide before it chips. I did that. Tick. The things we have to do when buying a stern game because they can’t put a rubber washer under a ball guide to stop the playfield from chipping.

But fuck me I’m a stupid owner for not scouring the other spots to check if they are ok. How negligent of me.

I didn’t take all the bits off to protect under the ball guide leading to the pizza parlour.

And I now have a nice big chip.

Thanks Stern. I thought you had learnt from Deadpool.

Thanks to me, because I hadn’t.

Are we meant to just rollover, take our playfields apart As soon as we get a new pin and do what Stern can’t be bothered to do? Or if we miss a bit, are we meant to repair as best we can and then put a washer underneath?

I just don’t understand, they know ball guides attached like this are going to destroy the playfield. Do they not care??
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Surely the ones that come from the factory with a shaker motor don't have all this extra foam and fasteners on it. I mean, its a plug and play part, if it comes from stern like that its a shame.... had i know it would act like that in the machine I would have never purchased it. Does anyone with the motor from the factory have rattle issues??

I have a stern one in deadpool. It rattles a lot. I have a pinball life one in tmnt. It rattles maybe a bit less. I have a pinball life one in TWD. It behaves itself. A friend has a pinball life one in JP2. it’s more sedate as well. Not sure if it’s down to coding or the actual shaker motor. Sorry for not being helpful.

My first thought was that you put the toothpick there so no balls would make it through. Ha!

I bought the siamese post with the intention on using it on my star wars but never did. Maybe ill use it here at some point

Ha! Thanks, I edited it to clarify. If it’s too easy I’ll remove. You can also angle it further away towards the side rail to increase The gap.

Just joined the club, turtle power! Now to figure out how the hell to play this game

I’m having another issue. I posted this before. Can someone with a pro check their shooter lane? Mine is not high enough for the ball to clear the orbit guide rail without clunking. I tried to increase the bend to make it a bit higher but then the folded tab down the bottom does not slot underneath the guide rail. It’s almost as if I need a new shooter lane metal ramp. Let me know if your pro goes clunk on launch and check the shooter ramp with your finger and see if it’s higher than the rail. Appreciate any feedback.

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Sorry to hear. From what i have seen AIQ has less ball-guide PF contact points, but they still exist. Just keep posting the damaged clear coat, thats not ok and Stern apparently making concessions with the newest title.

Agreed, I don't think we should have to spend hours trying to correct manufacturer defects.

My LE had a chip straight out of the box and has pooling spots all over the pf. Stern has offered a new playfield, but that doesn't fix the issue unless I pay someone $1k+ to swap them. This is the second NIB Stern game in a row I've bought with playfield defects. I won't keep buying and hoping for a "good" one. So unless something changes, this is my last Stern. Which is too bad, cause I love the games.

I just got my Premium and I had an issue with the glider not operating. That seems to be a common issue on this thread and many have reported having to obtain and install a replacement unit. Fortunately my problem wasn't quite so severe. It turns out that the selection button was not making contact with the switch beneath it. A quick adjustment to the switch blades and problem solved. Just wanted to share in case anyone experiences the same problem.

Definitely sad to see. I've just gotten into the habit of fully disassembling the top side of these games and putting a bunch of fiber washers in before playing. I did so on both JP and TMNT.

Sure, it's a huge pain- but I do enjoy the tinkering and it gives me a good chance to really learn about how they're put together and make a lot of adjustments in the process. I use that as an opportunity to adjust the placement of a number of ballguides so that everything feeds cleanly, better align some of the posts, switch everything over to Titan rings, and clean the ramps/plastics up (they often have a lot of manufacturing residue on them- especially black gunk on the metal ramps from what looks like laser cutting through protective film). On the positive side, I feel like once I've done this the games play really well and stay clean for a really long time.

The other super obnoxious thing I do is trim the "nubs" on the edges of the plastics as I'm reassembling, since I get annoyed when microfiber towels tend to catch + snag on them. But that's probably just me.

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Anyone else have shooter lane height issues on the pro??

As I suspected the metal ramp in the shooter lane is the same height or 1mm lower than the rail. When the two attachment screws are put in it pushes the ramp down to below the rail. The ball hits the rail on launch.

To fix I put mylar under the tab of the ramp that slots under the rail. The corners are sharp and scratch the playfield.

I bent the bend a little more to get more gradient and then put a very slight bend into the attachment point forks so the screws don’t put quite as much downwards pressure on the metal Shooter ramp. Then I put a bumper on the side rail to reduce the gap between the orbit rail and shooter ramp.
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Here’s after the fix

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Im looking at getting an Avengers but this game just looks like more fun!?

I realize us Auzzies are late to the pizza party, because of long shipping times from the USA. TMNT is a shooters dream machine, with tons of satisfying shots. Think setup is paramount to making this game shoot well and when done correctly it does exactly that, shoots super well. What great fun and TMNT home of exciting fun pinball moments! Great coding job Dwight @Xavery! And awesome layout John!

I get my pro this evening from Sydney. I'll check mine out

Thanks John. Put the time in to put the washers under the pizza parlour entrance and the lair.

How are Australian distros with chipping?

Anyone’s glider just slowing down? I’m noticing more and more shots going through because it is slowing down. It also appears to be loose(r) than before.
What is everyone’s default center setting - I think mine is 184 and not sure if that was default or if I changed it. Appreciate everyone’s insights.

Game overall is still great and I just ordered another pin....they are multiplying!!

Thanks for the advice. Are these areas prone to chipping? Can you put up picks of specific areas you added washers to. Cheers.

Depends on the severity of the chipping I would say. Plus the use of the game. I would be taking photos of any chipping and send to Michael.

So my Stern glider replacement came in and distro is going to attempt to install for me tomorrow.
Does anyone know if this is going to solve anything? Or is it just gonna blow again?
Any advice from someone that has had to solve this problem? Thanks!

Your glider servo is failing/has failed. Call your dist for a warranty replacement. Stern seems to have done a LOT of them for this machine.

That is brutal to see. I’m sorry. That was certainly stored rolled for a lot longer than it was transferred to the flat cardboard. Maybe heat warped it too. My first Playfield protector I bought 6 years ago came rolled. Last week I finally took it out of storage and laid it flat, put giant boxes filled with my movie poster collection on top of it and will leave it like that for a month or so and see how it turns out. Crazy thing is when I unrolled it, it wasn’t half as curled as yours is in that pic.

Mine failed and was replaced by my local pinball shop. LE#342

So my distro supplied me with a new pizza disc and decal. I level it by eye and the balls catching so it’s a bit low. I get out my square and make sure it is as level as can be. I have a weird thing with the bracket where the top bolt attachment moves easily. But the bottom one is stiff to the point where I have to give it small taps to adjust with the blunt end of a shifter. Anyway. Thought it’s all good. Tighten it up. Play a game. The pizza disc is tight up against the playfield at 4 o’clock. And it’s dropped at that point. Funny thing is the attachment points are 7:30 and 1:30. So why is it low from 4 o’clock to 7. I am really confused and scared I am just going to destroy another weldment. Going to get a tech in. Has anybody else got discs that loo like this? Or have one side of the bracket super tight that makes it hard to adjust?

Here’s a pic of how the disc looks now on the playfield. Will stop playing until it’s corrected.

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I had a hard time leveling the pizza because one side seemed stuck while the other side was loose, even after removing both leveling screws. Yes, one side needed a strong tap to adjust position. It can be a pain.

Can the spinning pizza disc be disabled in menu options? Not that it's an ideal solution, but at least it would be playable without risk of damage.

mine looks like that as well, but i havent had any issues

Thanks. Good to know.

Good idea. I just finished modding it. I'm just looking at it and I can feel the craving.

Appreciate all the feedback. I need to work out the tolerances of these discs. Am I expecting it to be perfectly centred and level. I can never get mine level all the way round. It’s not the only spinning disc I’ve owned. Never had problems with JJPOTC or NGG.

Anyway had some family members enjoying the disc missing.

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@prodoshi put this together

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-club2020-cowabunga-its-pizza-time/page/38#post-5781379

With the lair, I only bent after the first attachment point not at the bend point. Doing it at the bend point puts the rest of the ball guide out of shape. I would also advise not to change the orbit above the left Lair flipper.

I personally only fixed 2 ball guides with washers. One to the right of the lair and one to the right off the pizza parlour entrance.

The danger areas are where the end of a ball guide can be hit by a ball and they have the riveted bolt that goes through the playfield. Check out the chipping on mine.

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Mind orbits shooter,coin taker have these at blow out pricing $20.00 plus 10.00 for a 12 volt cn6 splitter iF you want to do it be prepared to mod your shooter housing and be ready to wet sand the new shooter rod because it is to big for the sleeve,you can also sand the inside of the sleeve,I did both .it was a bit of work and it still needs tweaking to get the ball to still shoot around the playfield but it looks cool,is it worth it you be the judge. .i believe these were 60.00 at one time.
So if you have Bally Williams games that these are designed for it is a cheep cool mod .

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This game is kicking my ass. I have it kinda steep but dang. SDTM all night. I haven’t rage quite in a long time but I did tonight. Tomorrow is a new day and I plan on making TMNT my B!@$h. Sorry for the rant.

It's cool how the van door opens and 4 balls fall out and go sdtm.

They’re heading for the sewer dude!!

Fixed my disc. I’m a dumbass.

So I’ve been trying to level using the 2 bolts on the side.

But what my slow brain failed to realise is when you tighten the top bolt, the harness is getting sideways movement like a rocking boat. I thought the tabs on the side near the bolt kept it level. They don’t. There is slight movement.

So when you tighten the bolts, with the other hand forcibly push or hold the top harness level.

Attached is before shot. Then me pushing against or twisting the harness and The final shot is is fixed.

This is to help any fellow stupid people out there. Rest of you probably found this obvious, like putting your pants on.

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Did you put extra ferrite chokes on the pizza motor wiring? I see one on each wire, then another on both wires. I only have 1 choke and it was on both wires (not looped). I changed mine and looped both wires through the block (like the first two are on yours). There's just enough room to do that for 1 loop.

Rob

No it came like that. Maybe it was the last one for the day and they just thought what the hey....

you better find that sweet spot pitch, its about 6.5!
shots will be easier and you can backhand the right ramp. the game is still frustrating aF

HAHA yes drives me nuts. I got in the habit of rocking the machine when they come out so they dont drain.

Thanks guys for the feedback I really do appreciate it.

Can anyone tell me what their glider mid setting is? Mine is 184 right now; is that right?

It really depends. Mine is at ~180, but I think it’s slightly different for everyone. I agree with Vireland. I reported the same issue on this thread a few weeks ago and he told me to reach out to my distributor to get a warranty replacement glider assembly from Stern. He was spot on, it was the servo (small black box that sits behind the glider that controls it’s positioning). The replacement glider I received from Stern fixed the issue.

Waiting on mine, how long did it take you to get it? What it a hard install?

Anyone else have combo's not register if you wing them around really fast? Particularly if they end on the center ramp?

Yes, which is so frustrating considering how hard the center ramp follow up shot is. Not sure if this is a hardware or software issue though. Registers fine in test and single shots.

It's a hardware issue I believe. The ball is either going too fast for the opto to pick up or it is jumping over the opto. Someone in the thread suggested putting a piece of tape on half of the opto and others have said that a plastic piece needs to go on top of that center ramp right at that turn and towards the opto so the ball does not hop and jump over the opto.

I think this is probably just the opto not registering at the exit of the center ramp on really fast balls. Cover the bottom half of the opto sender and receiver circle with duct tape (or anything that's not transparent or opaque) and see if that helps registration of fast balls. It's worked on other games with similar issues.

I wonder what the frequency of the opto polling is?