Loose flipper

TheDrewster

Well-known member

Donor 2012
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
7,668
Reaction score
314
Location
Reno, Nevada
The left flipper on my SMB is loose. I cant find any means to tighten it. It is loose enough to the point where I can see that it has rubbed the playfield at one time. It also has some white lithium residue on it from whoever had it before. Is something simply loose or is something wearing out that needs to be replaced?
 
Hard to say. If it's just loose you can tighten the set screws on the flipper pawl. If it's touching the playfield your flipper bushing is probably broken.

The set screws are in there so tight that they dont budge even if I put an extreme amount of force on them. Obviously I do not want to break anything, so I havent gone any further.
 
Does the flipper hit the playfield now? Push down on the flipper while you swing it through it's travel. Wiggle it while moving it to, there should be no way it touchs the playfield. If it rubs the playfield you need a new bushing.
Which part is loose? If you hold the pawl in place can you move the flipper? Try moving back from the flipper shaft, hold the link, see if the flippers loose, then hold the plunger, etc. That will tell you what's loose. Don't forget to try the whole assembly!
If you can't crank down on the set screw anymore and the flippers loose in the pawl you might need a new flipper bat. The shaft can get gouged / worn enough that the pawl can't grab it.
Have you checked Clay's guides (pinrepair.com) for flipper rebuilding to get an idea of what could be loose?

Jerry
 
I had the same issue, its hard to discribe but here it goes.

THe "tips" of the pawl are touching, like your index and thumb touching each other. This is stopping the screw from being tightened any further, problem is they hit before the pawl is tight on the flipper shaft. I filled mine so that the ends wouldn't touch before the middle was tight. (I had brand newflippers and bats.) Sorry if that discription doesn't make any sence.

A tleast that is waht my problem was.
 
The set screws are in there so tight that they dont budge even if I put an extreme amount of force on them. Obviously I do not want to break anything, so I havent gone any further.

Someone might have used some sort of "lock-tite" on those screws. Heat them up a bit with a heat gun....that'll usually soften up the lock-tite enough to get them loose.

Edward
 
I would at least take a look at the coil stop, flipper link, and plunger before considering a rebuild kit. You might not need the whole kit. You might not need any of it. It's entirely possible that the flipper just needs some tweaking. You can always shot gun it but I don't like spending money unnecessarily.

The most important consideration (IMO) based on what you've said is the flipper bushing. You don't want the flipper bat rubbing on the playfield. You might just need to set it higher in the pawl or you might have a broken bushing. Either way it needs to be fixed. Having the flipper bat rubbing on the playfield is about the worst thing that can happen to a flipper assembly.
 
I would at least take a look at the coil stop, flipper link, and plunger before considering a rebuild kit. You might not need the whole kit. You might not need any of it. It's entirely possible that the flipper just needs some tweaking. You can always shot gun it but I don't like spending money unnecessarily.

The most important consideration (IMO) based on what you've said is the flipper bushing. You don't want the flipper bat rubbing on the playfield. You might just need to set it higher in the pawl or you might have a broken bushing. Either way it needs to be fixed. Having the flipper bat rubbing on the playfield is about the worst thing that can happen to a flipper assembly.

the playfield as well, take it down to bare wood. I would just throw a whole new rebuild kit, and while your at it thrown in some new bushings :). This way you know everything for the flippers is new and functioning properly, hell I would even do new flipper bats as well. This is what I did and with great results and it's like a new machine now.
 
the playfield as well, take it down to bare wood..

Yeah... that's why you don't want the flipper rubbing on the playfield...

I would just throw a whole new rebuild kit, and while your at it thrown in some new bushings :). This way you know everything for the flippers is new and functioning properly, hell I would even do new flipper bats as well. This is what I did and with great results and it's like a new machine now

Or you could do some basic troubleshooting and determine if you actually need flipper kits. Full kits for a SMB will be about $130. Partial kits around $40.

Flipper kits are probably not a bad idea but I would want to know that I'm actually doing something for my money by at least looking at what's there and assessing the need for new parts.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom