So I have had to rebuild my SMB flippers and I am frustrated as all HELL.
Two years ago I replaced both coils and sleeves and it worked better than when I bought it. Fast forward to now, I installed a flipper rebuild kit which included everything except lever arms, both of which were causing issues, because all the sudden, the set screws didnt want to hold the flippers still anymore and they appeared stripped. Strange.
So I ordered two new lever arms. Both of them only came with one set screw, as opposed to my old ones which had two, so I figured it was supposed to be that way. No big deal. I replaced both lever arms and tightened the screw as hard as I could. After playing a game or two, they would come loose again and I would reposition the flipper and then re-tighten it. After repeating this process a few times, the left flipper holds perfectly and works great, but the right one kept drooping after about 10 hits of the ball, and that is after tightening it as hard as I can humanly get it. So I figured the shaft itself had some sort of issue, so I swapped in a different shaft and it STILL droops lower after a few minutes of play. What the hell? So I give it one more crank of the screwdriver and SNAP! The head of the screw breaks off.
And to make matters worse, the right flipper still droops. What in the hell am I doing wrong? Should I be using two screws? And what do I do now that the set screw is snapped off, leaving only the threads in the hole? Do I need a new flipper shaft? I am SICK of screwing with these godforsaken flippers and I want to play the damn game already!!!
Phew.
Two years ago I replaced both coils and sleeves and it worked better than when I bought it. Fast forward to now, I installed a flipper rebuild kit which included everything except lever arms, both of which were causing issues, because all the sudden, the set screws didnt want to hold the flippers still anymore and they appeared stripped. Strange.
So I ordered two new lever arms. Both of them only came with one set screw, as opposed to my old ones which had two, so I figured it was supposed to be that way. No big deal. I replaced both lever arms and tightened the screw as hard as I could. After playing a game or two, they would come loose again and I would reposition the flipper and then re-tighten it. After repeating this process a few times, the left flipper holds perfectly and works great, but the right one kept drooping after about 10 hits of the ball, and that is after tightening it as hard as I can humanly get it. So I figured the shaft itself had some sort of issue, so I swapped in a different shaft and it STILL droops lower after a few minutes of play. What the hell? So I give it one more crank of the screwdriver and SNAP! The head of the screw breaks off.
And to make matters worse, the right flipper still droops. What in the hell am I doing wrong? Should I be using two screws? And what do I do now that the set screw is snapped off, leaving only the threads in the hole? Do I need a new flipper shaft? I am SICK of screwing with these godforsaken flippers and I want to play the damn game already!!!
Phew.
