I have had a lot of success bending levers back on Sansui and Pioneer. I usually remove the front panel to actually examine the lever bar.
If the bar or shaft is bent real bad (like almost sideways), it may be hard to remove the front panel if the switch is bent bad.
Things to look for after the panel is removed:
- Is the bend on the lever gradual or sharp. Gradual are usually very easy to fix
- Is the bend right at the point where the lever goes from small (knob attachment) to the main shaft. If so you must be careful especially if you can stress cracks at the point of the bend
- Is the shaft that is bent upwards showing any crack or stress marks at the point of the bend. If so you may not want to risk breaking the shaft.
Procedure. I usually use 2 sets of pliers. First I hold the main shaft with a pair of slip joint pliers, and then use another pair of slip joint or needle nose to carefully straighten the shaft. This way you protect from breaking the shaft from the switch.
If one of the shaft breaks I have used a good grade of epoxy, and 2 small strips of thin sheet metal (tin or aluminum) to repair. The metal needs to be thin enough when attached to the shaft to still allow the diameter to fit through the hole in the panel. position hod its going to fit, apply avery small amount of 5 min epoxy to each piece of the metal, (or each side of the broken shaft), make sure you have the broken piece in position with the 2 pieces of reinforcing metal, clamp in place and let set. I usually wrap the repair with scotch tape or other thin plastic to keep the epoxy from sticking to the clamp. This is usually easier to do with the switch out, but can also be done in place as long as you have space to clamp it.
Or you can look for an inexpensive replacement switch and get it, just in case you break it when attempting to straighten.
