I'm having problems lifting the playfield on my WCS game to do servicing on the underside, as the soccer ball does not spin during gameplay. I can lift it up just barely past the two bars, but I and several friends have tried unsuccessfully to pull it forward at all with all our might. I can't even get to the stage where it clicks and you can continue lifting.

This is about as high up as I can get it, and clearly it's propped up:

IMG_20150901_190233.jpg

This is how the mechanism looks on the left side when the playfield is in its propped-up state. Note the part with the spring doesn't hang down and is not touching the wood rail.

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On the other hand, this is the right-side mechanism. The part with the spring hangs down when the playfield is in the propped-up state, and notice how it seems to have derailed itself, scraping the wood rail quite a bit over time.

IMG_20150901_190529.jpg

When I try to jiggle it and pull forward, it seems to actually be stuck on the left side, while the right side has a little bit of give. Any suggestions as to how I can pull the playfield forward? My local friends are all EM experts, and not very big on WPC system knowledge.

Tried this just now... pulled on the hook looking thing / springy part with a coat hanger so it was parallel to the wood rail. Then I had someone try yanking forward on the playfield once again, but to no avail. Not sure what it could be stuck on. Time to start drilling? Some folks suggested it could take a few minutes' worth of jiggling before it cooperates.

Thanks for those pictures. Anything I should be aware of on the way there?

Sure enough... That was an old, crummy half soccer ball that looks way more busted than the one installed. I also found a huge screwdriver, a screw, and a couple washers floating around! Who knows what remains...

Something must be blocking it at the pivot point, but it's hard to take good pictures there with the things hanging down in that area. The one on the right side wants to move forward, but the one on the left is completely stuck. Here are a couple views that might help you diagnose it.

IMG_20150906_180007.jpg

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Doesn't seem like it should be stuck... but it is!

This is intriguing advice... Of course, I tried using the rod of a Harbor Freight screwdriver to loosen the nut, and I thought the screwdriver would break before the nut would actually turn. In researching the terms further, I discovered the related parts (in Sec. 2-3 of the manual) are:
the Plate Spacer (http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/01-11408),
the Pivot Nut (http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/02-4329-1), and
the Pivot Bushing (http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2204).

So I should try to hold the bushing steady while trying to turn the nut loose, and then once it's loose, I'll re-tighten it? (Sorry if this is an idiotic question; I'm way more of a software guy than a hardware guy.)

Anyway, my WCS game will be brought to the Dallas Makerspace in Carrollton for our Open House this Saturday 9/12, and there will be about a dozen other pins available to play! If you mention this thread, I'll let you have a crack at lifting the playfield. (And if you ask nicely, maybe we'll show you all the other projects we're working on in the back room. )

Well, thanks to RampShot11, Venom_249, and T7 for offering assistance. The leg bolt plates were super-loose in the game, and finally with enough determination and faith that the game wouldn't just fall down onto the floor and possibly squish my feet, I jiggled the playfield around more vigorously than before and it finally gave! This was good since there's a lot of stuff under the playfield that needs cleaning and/or replacement, as evidenced by the way it behaved at DMS Open House. Now I'm working on replacing those leg bolt plates while it's set on the ground...