(Topic ID: 262069)

Worst mech in a pinball machine to remove/repair/work on?

By EricHadley

4 years ago


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  • 66 posts
  • 52 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 4 years ago by edward472
  • Topic is favorited by 3 Pinsiders

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    There are 66 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 2.
    #1 4 years ago

    I’m fuming after having to work on my Elvira HOH. I dread having to remove the house. Did it today for my second time because the cellar kick-out stopped working correctly because of a lose screw back under the back side of the house. Re-installing that house. Those 4 screws all the way down at the bottom you can hardly see let alone reach. NIGHTMARE! I musta swore and cussed for an hour getting those 4 screws back in. I started sweating from frustration. I finally got it back together and it’s all fixed. So, what other games out there have equally frustrating mech’s to work on?

    #2 4 years ago

    The Dirty Harry magnet used to be a thorn in my side. After a couple times removing everything to get to it, it's not so bad anymore.

    #3 4 years ago

    Reaching the gi lamp below the left ramp entrance in SS. You have to remove the coffin completely from the playfield, then remove both ramps at the same as they hinder each other while bending the ramps quite a lot at the back and fearing breaking them. When putting everything back all cables from the pf going underside pf are really short so its hard to get them back down under the ramps.

    After replaçing the broken lamp with a led and checking it works fine I finally get it all mounted I started the game again and now the led suddenly didnt work so I Said f**k it and just ignored it.

    #4 4 years ago
    Quoted from o-din:

    The Dirty Harry magnet used to be a thorn in my side. After a couple times removing everything to get to it, it's not so bad anymore.

    You are right ,replacing that is a bitch.

    10
    #5 4 years ago

    Red and Ted's heads on RoadShow.

    #6 4 years ago

    Corvette ZR 1 ramp assembly LT5 , ugh!!

    #7 4 years ago

    Anything on sttng.

    #8 4 years ago
    Quoted from Lhyrgoif:

    Reaching the gi lamp below the left ramp entrance in SS.

    Can’t that socket just be taken with one screw from the bottom of the PF?

    #9 4 years ago

    + 1 to Ted from Roadshow, red isnt as bad.

    #10 4 years ago
    Quoted from DNO:

    Can’t that socket just be taken with one screw from the bottom of the PF?

    No, it's mounted above the playfield, under the ramp. And if using bulbs instead of LEDs, turn it so the bulb faces the rear of the game and not facing the front. The heat it produces can hurt the ramp.

    LTG : )

    #11 4 years ago

    Batman 66 Turntable....I'm dreading the day something breaks inside of it....

    #12 4 years ago

    I was never fond of the microswitches buried beneath ramps on Dirty Harry. Otherwise, the 7 to 10 position drop target mechs on Gottlieb em's are no fun.

    Let's not even get into the Stern Orbitor 1 playfield mechs.

    #13 4 years ago

    Upper playfield Royal Rumble. That was a mother
    to get off and on correctly.

    #14 4 years ago

    Stage assembly and ball lifter on Pinball Magic

    #15 4 years ago

    Probably not the hardest thing, but I HATE working on flippers. I find them to be such a pain to get aligned and spaced correctly.

    #16 4 years ago

    Hand on #JM

    Great game tho

    #17 4 years ago

    Dismantling and reassembling the TZ clock is something I hope to never do again.

    #18 4 years ago

    Safecracker has mechs packed in so tightly, just getting the nuts off the screw posts can be tough, let alone putting it all back together.

    #19 4 years ago

    Generally, it's a mech in a game I just wedged in a corner, and have to move 4 games just to get the glass off (they seem to know and pretend to be fine when I put them there)....

    #20 4 years ago

    The AC/DC cannon can be a nightmare to fix. Where to start on World Cup soccer

    #21 4 years ago

    Rear drop target assembly on Medusa.

    #22 4 years ago

    I was always scared of TZ clock but found it surprisingly easy. Worst for me was vengeance ship on Stern ST. Everything on that game is buried under plastics. Had one of the optos go out but luckily it was only one accessible without taking vengeance off.

    #23 4 years ago
    Quoted from pinballkyle:

    Where to start on World Cup soccer

    +1k!!

    #24 4 years ago

    Gene's head on KISS Prem/LE. The worst.

    #25 4 years ago
    Quoted from PinMonk:

    Gene's head on KISS Prem/LE. The worst.

    Haven't had to go there yet (fingers crossed)

    #26 4 years ago

    Not sure it is the worst I've ever dealt with as there are a lot of games that are bitches, but I remember completely hating the designers of Royal Rumble when I took off and put back on the upper playfield. Just a pain in the ass all around.

    #27 4 years ago

    I hate pop bumpers, and subways that have a bunch of junk to take off before you can get them out.

    #28 4 years ago

    any game with an upper playfield is a pain in the ass. WOZ is a double pain in the ass.

    #29 4 years ago
    Quoted from EricHadley:

    I musta swore and cussed for an hour getting those 4 screws back in. I started sweating from frustration. I finally got it back together and it’s all fixed. So, what other games out there have equally frustrating mech’s to work on?

    Get the right tools, makes life a lot easier. I have a set of klein magnetic nut drivers both in 6" and a 3" shaft. 1/4, 5/16, 11/32 and 7/8s on occasion.
    Most sterns are mainly 5/16, 1/4 and phillips for 95% of things up top. tekton open end wrenches are helpful as well.
    https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-WRN57004-Flex-Head-Ratcheting-Combination/dp/B01F511TU8/ref=sr_1_8

    or at the very least use this with what your using.
    https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Precision-Demagnetizer-Magnetizer-Screwdrivers/dp/B01BKX64HS/ref=sr_1_1

    #30 4 years ago

    I had to replace the switches under Star Scream on my Transformers LE about a year ago or more. It almost made me quit pinball all together.

    #31 4 years ago
    Quoted from PinMonk:

    Gene's head on KISS Prem/LE. The worst.

    I was reading this hoping this wasn’t on here lol. I picked up a kiss le and it has an issue with the demon lock not reading the ball. I can’t wait to take it apart lol

    #32 4 years ago
    Quoted from jmountjoy111:

    I was reading this hoping this wasn’t on here lol. I picked up a kiss le and it has an issue with the demon lock not reading the ball. I can’t wait to take it apart lol

    It's a double drag because once you get it apart there aren't really any good diagnostics to test the fairly complicated function of it when you can finally see what it's doing, so you have to piecemeal switch and coil tests. And I don't know if they fixed it in the last update, but the coil adjustments for two of the head coils were BACKWARDS, so when you thought you were adjusting one, you were actually adjusting the other.

    Just a pain all around. I'd like to slap whoever mechanically designed it for minimum access and servicability. And, it's like a greatest hits of Lonnie's sloppy code work with things like the backwards coil adjustments.

    #33 4 years ago

    the ship on stern potc.

    #34 4 years ago

    Sega The lost world: Jurassic park, snagger is a PITA.
    A lot on the topside, A lot underneath, 2 timing chains with gears, and a terrible service system.

    #35 4 years ago

    of what i have worked on, the Doctor Who mini playfield. you know a mech is a nightmare if it has it's own multipage repair guide.

    #36 4 years ago

    Those fragile little springs on drop down targets.

    #37 4 years ago
    Quoted from mc300baud:

    of what i have worked on, the Doctor Who mini playfield. you know a mech is a nightmare if it has it's own multipage repair guide.

    I love that time expander mech. Very cool. I wish it was repurposed and updated for a newer machine.

    #38 4 years ago

    The Dr Who mech.

    Funhouse/Road Show heads.

    #39 4 years ago
    Quoted from DNO:

    Can’t that socket just be taken with one screw from the bottom of the PF?

    The lamp is screwed to the pf upside (not downside) but below both ramps. Also no way to reach/screw from the sides.

    #40 4 years ago

    Leveling the cannon assembly in BR, oh my. There are three points to adjust and its always two being good and the third being wrong. Adjusting one point to good result in one of the other two getting bad, its a never ending story of adjustments.

    Only way to get it done is to find a configuration that is "good enough" and then try to forget the assembly exists.

    #41 4 years ago

    From my limited experience, the time expander from doctor who.
    Hope to fix mine soon.

    #42 4 years ago

    Capt. B. Zarr on Party Zone can be a bit of a challenge to wire so it is reliable due to all the movement it does.

    #43 4 years ago

    Top 5 pita mechs
    1. Mode start adjustments for IJ williams. Requires that you remove the Path of Adventure to get to it only to find out the adjustment you made had no effect on the scoop bounce outs. That took months to perfect.

    2. TZ Geneva switch. In order to properly align the switch requires removal of the gum ball machine. Either you remove the left ramp or take off the back wall of the playfield. Both pain in the ass.

    3. Shadow mini playfield. Had a rouge diode causing wierd behavior. Must have pulled the mini playfield a dozen times finding the culprit.

    4. Big buck hunter elk switch. What an amazing pain that is to get off and mess with. Never want to mess with that assembly again.

    5. Bsd mist assembly. If you get a flakey long range op to prepare for a lot of cursing taking that apart and trying to alight the opto correctly.

    Honorable mention. Jumping Jack Target assembly target and spring replacement.

    #44 4 years ago

    I haven’t found anything that comes close to the hand. Not that hard to remove, but no room for shortcuts or error in rebuilding.

    #45 4 years ago
    Quoted from Lhyrgoif:

    Leveling the cannon assembly in BR, oh my. There are three points to adjust and its always two being good and the third being wrong. Adjusting one point to good result in one of the other two getting bad, its a never ending story of adjustments.
    Only way to get it done is to find a configuration that is "good enough" and then try to forget the assembly exists.

    I got a project Black Rose awhile back and getting the cannon right nearly drove me insane. The only way I could get it close enough was by adjusting it through the coin door while the playfield was down. If it had four adjustment points instead of three, I bet it would be a cakewalk.

    #46 4 years ago

    Getting the ship out in JJP POTC: Easy!

    Back in?: Bring a friend. Lining up those two metal hoops blindly, let alone cramming and supporting the damn thing without damaging the nest of wires (which have to, of course, snake down through a PF hole), is AMAZINGLY FRUSTRATING.

    #47 4 years ago
    Quoted from PinMonk:

    It's a double drag because once you get it apart there aren't really any good diagnostics to test the fairly complicated function of it when you can finally see what it's doing, so you have to piecemeal switch and coil tests. And I don't know if they fixed it in the last update, but the coil adjustments for two of the head coils were BACKWARDS, so when you thought you were adjusting one, you were actually adjusting the other.
    Just a pain all around. I'd like to slap whoever mechanically designed it for minimum access and servicability. And, it's like a greatest hits of Lonnie's sloppy code work with things like the backwards coil adjustments.

    I’ll be honest I knew it was going to be a PITA when I got it. I traded a cosmic carnival for it straight up with that being the only issue with the kiss le machine. I’ll get it lined out

    I didn’t think the time expander was that bad. I had more trouble out of the switches in the head of BOP honestly. I bought both of those as basket case games from the same guy at the same time. I took those face plates apart on BOP more times than I can count

    #48 4 years ago

    Hulk on Avengers.

    What garbage that game is.

    #49 4 years ago

    I agree with the others that say the Time Expander on Doctor Who.... although I did get good at getting it in and out when I had to fix mine. Must have been in and out of the machine 50 times. This was before all the guides to fix it existed!!

    The top part of Earthshaker with the split is challenging as well, as it the top ramps on Taxi. The playfields really need to come out of system 11's to work on the top stuff, inside the cabinet it's too difficult to bend over into there.

    #50 4 years ago

    Williams horseshoe drop targets

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