Loose outlane rail....

Swillie

New member
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Location
Michigan
On my Night Rider pin one of the outlane next to the flipper comes loose every handful of games, slowly working its way up out of the playfield. What is the best way to make it stay down? Wasn't sure if glueing it was the best idea in case it had to be removed in the future.
 
Last edited:
On my Night Rider pin one of the outlane rails below the flipper comes loose every handful of games, slowly working its way up out of the playfield. What is the best way to make it stay down? Wasn't sure if glueing it was the best idea in case it had to be removed in the future.

I'm not familiar with that game - are the rails screwed in, or do they go through the playfield and attach with a washer/nut? If you have screw holes that are stripped, get some wood filler and re-drill. If they attach through the playfield, maybe the nut just fell off.
 
You can put a little glue on the underside of the playfield to hold it in place, they are pretty easy to clean around. Or you can remove it and put a thin piece of wood or paper in the hole to wedge it in place. Or you can just remove it. I had a Jurassic park that had them removed, it really serves no purpose on a home machine.
 
Well I made a mistake in my description.... the rail is below the in/out lanes..... when the ball stays 'in', the rail rolls it onto the flipper to send back into play. It is just thick gage wire bent 90 degrees on each end, and inserted into small holes in the playfield. They stop at the right height ( the hole does not go all the way throught the playfield ). I was thinking about using thick superglue into the hole. The other rail can be pulled out as well, but stays in place otherwise.
 

Attachments

  • Night Rider Playfield.JPG
    Night Rider Playfield.JPG
    87.6 KB · Views: 23
Last edited:
Well I made a mistake in my description.... the rail is below the in/out lanes..... when the ball stays 'in', the rail rolls it onto the flipper to send back into play. It is just thick gage wire bent 90 degrees on each end, and inserted into small holes in the playfield. They stop at the right height ( the hole does not go all the way throught the playfield ). I was thinking about using thick superglue into the hole. The other rail can be pulled out as well, but stays in place otherwise.
Epoxy or JB weld works good.
Glennon
 
Well I made a mistake in my description.... the rail is below the in/out lanes..... when the ball stays 'in', the rail rolls it onto the flipper to send back into play. It is just thick gage wire bent 90 degrees on each end, and inserted into small holes in the playfield. They stop at the right height ( the hole does not go all the way throught the playfield ). I was thinking about using thick superglue into the hole. The other rail can be pulled out as well, but stays in place otherwise.

I carefully taped around the holes & filled them with epoxy. After waiting 24 hours for the epoxy to set fully, I drilled the correct sized holes & reinstalled the guide. This was on my Bally Embryon, directly across from the upper flipper, so it really takes a beating with direct hits. It's been 6 months & it is still holding up well.
 
I carefully taped around the holes & filled them with epoxy. After waiting 24 hours for the epoxy to set fully, I drilled the correct sized holes & reinstalled the guide. This was on my Bally Embryon, directly across from the upper flipper, so it really takes a beating with direct hits. It's been 6 months & it is still holding up well.

I looked at a pic of Embryon, the little rail next to the checkout lanes looks to attach the same way alright. Anyway I like how you fixed yours, that is the way I am going to go for sure. Thanks!!
 
I looked at a pic of Embryon, the little rail next to the checkout lanes looks to attach the same way alright. Anyway I like how you fixed yours, that is the way I am going to go for sure. Thanks!!

I measured the wire size with my micrometer, it is 3/32" ......

At least it is on my Bally, would probably be a good idea to measure the wire size on yours with a micrometer to verify exact sizing.
 
The way we always fixed that problem was to bend the wire form using 2 pairs of pliers so that the 90 degree angle was now about 95 degrees. Then by gently flexing the middle of the wireform get it to go back in its holes. The slight over bend of the angles now will help hold the wire in place. Worked most of the time unless the holes are enlarged to much.
 
The way we always fixed that problem was to bend the wire form using 2 pairs of pliers so that the 90 degree angle was now about 95 degrees. Then by gently flexing the middle of the wireform get it to go back in its holes. The slight over bend of the angles now will help hold the wire in place. Worked most of the time unless the holes are enlarged to much.

That's that I would do. If it's still a problem then fill the hole and re-drill.

Definitely do not glue it in.
 
That's that I would do. If it's still a problem then fill the hole and re-drill.

Definitely do not glue it in.

Yeah, you want to be able to take it back out if need be. If you glue it in then you will probably screw up the playfield if/when you attempt to remove it.
 
It's also worth mentioning that my method is slightly different. I use one pair of pliers holding the ball guide with my fingers and bending one end at a time. That way the metal is bending where you want it (at the 90 degree bend). You could also use a soft-jaw vice.
 
Yeah, you want to be able to take it back out if need be. If you glue it in then you will probably screw up the playfield if/when you attempt to remove it.

Definitely. You want to be able to strip the playfield completely flat at some point in the future if need be.

I've had to remove ball guides that were glued in before. I've found that heating them with a soldering iron works well. It's really going to depend on what kind of glue they've used.
 
Earlier someone said the rails below the flippers are not needed in home use. I disagree - they prevent the ball from spinning back up into play. Interestingly, there are none (factory) on my Stern Seawitch but Mata Hari and Gorgar both have them, much to my displeasure!! haha!
 
"It's also worth mentioning that my method is slightly different. I use one pair of pliers holding the ball guide with my fingers and bending one end at a time. That way the metal is bending where you want it (at the 90 degree bend). You could also use a soft-jaw vice. "

I guess I should've said were to place the pliers... one on each side of the 90 dergree angle. That's why we use 2 pair.
 
Thanks everyone for chiming in. Tonight I will bend the legs out a bit like you suggested, that seems like an easy fix. Than I will be forced to play a bunch of games to test it out.
 
"It's also worth mentioning that my method is slightly different. I use one pair of pliers holding the ball guide with my fingers and bending one end at a time. That way the metal is bending where you want it (at the 90 degree bend). You could also use a soft-jaw vice. "

I guess I should've said were to place the pliers... one on each side of the 90 dergree angle. That's why we use 2 pair.

Gotcha. I figured as much. Didn't make a lot of sense otherwise ;)

Just don't chip off the plating.
 
Back
Top Bottom