Any advice on how to get a joystick knob off?

JamBurglar

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I'm cleaning/rebuilding my Mario sticks (these are the ones where the joystick knob doesn't have a set screw). I've never been able to get the joystick knob off of the shaft with these types of sticks. I tried soaking in WD40 overnight and that didn't help at all. It's really tough to get any sort of grip becausue everything is cylidrical/round.

It's not crucial that I get it apart but I'd like to try, so I can get all the rust out, clean and reassemble.

Anybody have any tricks?
 
I don't know if they ARE removable...but if thy are, have you tried one of those grippers they sell at the grocery store for opening jars?
 
I've got the answer...

I couldn't get my galaga joystick apart...no matter how much WD-40 I used. And by the way, the WD-40 made it even more impossible to grip.
I found the solution here... worked perfectly the first try.
http://www.amazon.com/Pennzoil-1942...19BA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1326917309&sr=8-4

The rubber strap oil wrenches can adjust to any size. I put one on the shaft, one on the ball, and with little effort- it came apart. (que dirty jokes in 3...2...1...)
 
I tried the grippers, I tried plyers and paper towels for protecting the metal, I DID NOT try the oil wrenches. Good idea! Although, looking at the schematic on those sticks, I think jimkirk is right. Looks like the collars are removable, but not the knobs.
 
I had a similar problem with my demo derby shifters. A trick I've seen that works is to heat the shaft with a blow torch. The metal expansion and contraction breaks the rust or loctite bond. Use this in conjunction with either wd40 or liquid wrench.
 
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If you have any lead sheet, you can wrap it around the joystick shaft and tighten it up in a vice. Then use one of those strap wrenches to loosen the top. If it is removable.
 
Order a NOS replacement, wait for the tracking number to show, then try the shielded on vise with oil wrench approach and let us know how it turns out.
 
For you guys using wd40, try Pb blaster (sold at most auto parts places).. I don't know if it would've made a difference in this case but on my jeep, worked a helluva lot better for penetration
 
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