I made my final payment to my distributer this week for a JP Premium and they told me just today that Stern has scheduled its next production run of JPP machines for the week of July 26th.

I sure hope so as I've had mine on order since May.

In the immortal words of Thomas Earl Petty, "The waiting is the hardest part."

So after my "new T rex head install" I decided to check... he looked off a little to the left ...adjusted and now I cant get him centered.. once I do...play a few balls...and check again... off... what am I doing wrong Before I messed with It I would occasionally get the "Feed Tex" but his head was way to the right... shoot the ramp and started multiball .... ideas... how can I just hit the "reset " button.

Someone on one of the pinball fb groups who seemed well informed said July 26th…

I hope this helps SOME of guys having trouble getting your trex positioned right. Try backing out the bolt that secures the backbox to the cabinet. When mine is all of the way in it hits the trex mech and the head will not go down far enough. I jacked and jacked with the settings with no luck. Then I realized what was going on and backed it out a couple threads and everything went right into place and I have never had an issue since.

Hi guys,

I just got myself a Premium a few days ago and last night I decided to change over the standard spinner truck to an upgraded one I had previously bought online. I foolishly decided to do this after many drinks....

Okay, so next day I noticed the truck now doesn't spin very well. I then found what I believe to be some spare parts left over from my previous night's efforts. I am not sure of the correct order of parts or if in fact I am missing anything to correctly re-install this back on the game and spinning nice and freely. Attached is a photo of what I have. I have checked the manual but it doesn't seem to show the info I need. I'm hoping someone can tell me if I am missing anything and the order for installation?

I remember I was quite proud of myself last night but now it is just regret.

Thanks for any help.

IMG_4913 (resized).JPG

Topside | washer - bearing - washer
Bottom side | collar oriented so tab rotates between pairs of optos (collar should be a mm or so from completely snug against bottom of playfield to allow for smooth shaft rotation).

Possible there is a date that PRODUCTION starts, and date perhaps a week later that SHIPPING starts. I am guessing it takes a week to build machines from start to finish. If so, then both of those dates make sense. July 19th was the date I was told PRODUCTION starts.

I found the stock thrust bearing sucks after sometime so i ordered these (below) and replace the nylon bearing with a metal construction and added just a dab of silcone with teflon lube (Autozone etc has it) to the bearing and washers (which are one way directional as you can see with the groove, groove side to the ball bearings) and now it spins freely. Just a thought down the road if you decide, takes all of 10 minutes to do.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QLWRTBN
61mGecDzVDL._SL1100_ (resized).jpg61oc3s9KiGL._SL1500_ (resized).jpg

Nice find. Just to confirm, it's the F7-15M (7x15x5mm) set?

Yes 7mm inner diameter and 15mm outer diameter. Actually Markharris found them, I just followed his info along with the suggested lube spray from another and it works really well. Just a drop of lube, don't saturate them. Then even shoot some lube on a paper tower or napkin and wipe it on the Jeeps shaft as well, keeps it moving nicely in that nylon bushing.

Boy I don't see any bolt that would be contacting the Trex mech at all ???

yes, these are AMAZING!!!!! I had the issue with my Jeep being installed too tightly against the playfield, and in the process of fixing the issue, I found these. I got a pack from AMZ and another from China. Maybe $1 a piece for the ones from China, and just under $2 each for the ones from AMZ. For whatever reason, Stern went with the lowest quality version of a thrust bearing, probably because of the light weight of the Jeep and what they perceived was a lower cost. That said, I looked at the application of this bearing and realized that we hit the Jeep a thousand times a week, so perhaps a plastic bearing wasn't the best choice!!!!!! The F7-15M is the metal version, and the MATCHING washers are made to directly mate with the bearings by having rescessed channels where the bearings actually touch. This channeled washer lengthens the life of the bearing 'sandwich' by distributing the load over a wider area, not just on a single point. The balls stay round, longer.

Long story short: The F7-15M is the thrust bearing Stern should have used in the first place. The plastic version should have been used ONLY on the prototype machine back in Chicago, before real production began!

Update: Just getting ready to swap in a set of F7-13M parts, I had ordered from china. These have the same center hole diameter, but have a 13mm outer diameter (instead of 15mm), which will reduce the visibility of the ring. This is down to nits, but the parts finally arrived, so worth the swap. Will report more soon.

F7-13M

Mine currently works fine....but I am ordering to have on hand. Thanks!

Experimenting today..

If I slide the playfield out...and do horizontal test... he homes dead center. Slide the playfield in and repeat...off to the left... ???? Ideas....

Same with me. Just like a have a replacement set of coil stops ready to go when the time comes.

Ordered a set as well. Thanks for the suggestion. Amazon must be wondering why there's a sudden surge in thrust ball bearing sales today!?

Hey guys, has there been any strides yet to implement Co-Operative team play that anyone is aware of? That would just sky rocket this games (already) fun factor.

Make sure the TRex isn’t binding up on the cable bundle.

Almost a year ago Keith implied a desire/wish to have co-op mode on JP2 (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jurassic-park-stern-2019-owners-club-welcome-to-jurassic-park/page/126#post-5790122) but not aware of anything further than that - certainly would be awesome to have both co-op and teams mode.

Has Stern done a game with co-op and teams mode?

I think Mando has both ?? I don’t own it so can’t be sure.

Did anyone use spacers when installing the Jada jeep? If so, what size/type?

Nope....

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jurassic-park-stern-2019-owners-club-welcome-to-jurassic-park/page/162#post-5967641

OK. In that post he says "You want the metal plate to be parallel to the bottom of the Jeep instead of slanting towards the front. Ideally you would use spacers on the front (I didn't have any, but will probably retrofit them later)."

But it's not necessary?

I didnt on mine...works flawlessly Someone else may chime in..

Thanks Wizardmod, finally got some side art in that I like.

IMG_2802 (resized).jpeg

IMG_2808 (resized).jpeg

Not needed, and here’s my guide.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jurassic-park-stern-2019-owners-club-welcome-to-jurassic-park/page/162#post-5967641

LOL already sent it to him.... go to!

Oops, I overlooked that.

I always send folks your way!! LOL

Finally joined the club!

*help request no longer required - found loose connector*

I've been in the club for a week now and have learned a lot and made a lot of tweaks and fixes going through this thread searching and looking at pictures. Thanks to all who have posted tips.

Ever since seeing this game when it first came out, something about the silver screws and washers on the slingshot plastics bothered me. Why is T-Rex eating a chrome screw? I know it's a little silly, but I couldn't wait to replace these screws with black hardware. I went ahead and eliminated the washers and was careful not to tighten beyond just barely snug. Looking at it now, it doesn't seem so silly. It made a bigger difference than I expected. I also, did the lock nut in black. I found these cheap on Amazon a while back and they would probably look good on a lot of games.

20210718_110339 (resized).jpg

20210718_110351 (resized).jpg

My Raptor has fallen and cant get up....lol

Keeps getting his right arm stuck in the cage area.... anyone else....??? ideas...

I’ve had to heat it up with a blow dryer and bend it in about 3-4 times - seems to have held strong at this point. Make sure to try and get toward the thicker part of the arm when warming it up - also, a little goes a long way.

Got my Start Button installed from Rocket City Pinball. Looks great, much better than the flashing Green button from Stern

20210718_170434 (resized).jpg

I like your door, can you post a pic of the whole machine so I can see door please?

Thanks. I haven't installed it yet. Does that metal plate underneath make it look awkward with the Jada jeep? Did you end up painting it?

Yes, I painted the extended part black (not the entire piece), and visually you really don't notice it from the player's perspective unless you are looking for it.
pasted_image (resized).png

I'm wondering if there is a communication breakdown between the engineers/designers working on prototype tables and whomever is putting together the table BOMs and assembly line instructions. That would explain things like this POC grade thrust bearing making it through to production, mech issues on A:IQ subways, and multiple tables having guide rails with no washers that end up damaging playfields.

Here you go...

20210719_151513 (resized).jpg

The start button looks great in the photo. Would you recommend it? Also, where did you get the JP inserts on the coin slot lights? Thanks.

I just swapped over to one of these jeeps and it does look better however it now does not swing as readily as it did with the plastic factory jeep. I'm sure this is just because of the extra weight of the metal jeep compared to the original plastic jeep. Anyone else finding this?

What is the level of your playfield? The steeper it is the more noticeable the Jeep weight is on freely swinging if you have mounted the Jeep less than center. At 6.5 degress it seemed just a hint less free than the plastic factory version. I had the Jada Jeep on my first JP, and noticed that reduced swing just a hint, so I have not yet done the mod on my second JP for that very reason. If I do, I think I will a bit more careful about where the exact center of the Jeep mounting holes should be. I guess its time for precision measurement and drilling!

Thanks, I would definitely recommend the Start Button, I got the inserts from Filament printing But Rocket City Pinball makes some too and I'd already got the inserts before finding Andy

In my experience, that is the same person.

As a design engineer, I would specify a particular component from a single vendor. Purchasing could only buy from that vendor. Of course the vendor had to meet the drawing requirements. With more generic parts (i.e. a resistors), then purchasing could buy from a variety of vendors as long as they met the spec requirements. But in the end, totally my call.

My assembly drawings had instructions regarding how hand-placed parts were placed on the PWB. I also wrote the test spec to verify the board was working properly.

In the end, engineers wear a lot of hats!

Yes you're right. I foolishly didn't even think of the positioning of the jeep. However it is restricted as to how centred you can get the jeep as it can hit the metal ramp. I'll check this out and see if I can centre it better than currently. I've also ordered those better bearings that were recommended earlier on this thread. That might assist as well.

I’ve not had any issues whatsoever with my Jeep’s smooth rotation. It’s all about getting the center of gravity directly over the center of the shaft.

EXACTLY what I keep telling her!

Just looking for some opinions on the Mezel Electric Fence Upgrade and also their Raptor Pen. Are these worthwhile and fit well in the game. Not tacky at all??

Thank you.

https://mezelmods.com/collections/jurassic-park-pinball-stern

You can’t go wrong with the raptor pen. $50 well spent and it looks factory. Installation is easy, and it’s 100% reversible if you ever wanted to, but you won’t.