Technics SL-1100 - EPA-110 tonearm concern

[KinoRodori]

Hello hello hello AK-ers !

I've recently received my SL-1100 from the mail and dare i say it is humongous! it arrived somewhat safely, with no significant damage to the dust cover or body.

My concerns are that my 1100's tonearm, the starship looking EPA-110 has:
1. Some yaw at the pivot. Not lateral or vertical play, but yaw like that of a cymbal.
2. A faint spring sound when i engage the anti skate above 1 and swing the tonearm inwards.
3. Difficulty to zero balance.

I've tried extremely slightly (as in little) tightening the visible screws on the tonearm but there's no difference with the yaw. Is there something i can do to fix this? There's no professional tonearm repair guy here in my country so I will have to do it myself. Maybe a service manual for this tonearm would be helpful?

I've yet to try soon it if it tracks properly. But I am sure this yaw-ing is not normal. Compared to my SL-1900 which has zero play on the pivot of its tonearm.

I'll be uploading a video and some pictures later, but here's key details:
- everything is stable but the tonearm's yawing.
- the yawing is primarily in the skeleton (pivot) of the tonearm, not the housing (the top case of the tonearm where the anti skate knob is attached)
- tonearm (held at the housing) can't be moved vertically nor laterally (side to side) when i wiggle it gently
- i think is has something to do with what's inside the column of the tonearm, right above the base. but i can't see what's loose in it.

It's like this out of the box, and there wasn't any sign of blunt force that may have dislodged the tonearm out of place (dust cover is not scratched in the tonearm side, platter was removed from the turntable before transportation, there is no loose object inside the turntable while transported).

 

[KinoRodori]

Here's a video of the wiggling from the bottom of the tonearm
https://imgur.com/gallery/eD9t8Li
Here's what i suspect is the cause. I think it's a collar lock. It might be a bearing. Could i possibly fix the problem by moving the collar higher up to hold the tonearm post in place?

It has 2 locking screws same to that of a Sansui amplifier knob.

 

[turboyam]

You did check the 2 vertical adjustment screws? (one on the right side, one on the back).
Post a video from the upper view, the arm itself.

 

[KinoRodori]

You did check the 2 vertical adjustment screws? (one on the right side, one on the back).
Post a video from the upper view, the arm itself.

https://imgur.com/gallery/Hc6C28e here's a top video. the tonearm base and other screws in the assembly are tight. thanks for replying

 

[sly999]

Topic is a year old, but i happen to play in one of these tonarms trying to rebuild it from broken parts.
I' ve had many 1100's in my shop, they all have some kind of play there and it' s not easy to fix.
The bottom bearing of the pillar is set in glue and very hard to move. I've tried tighning it many times, and got to tighten it, but it seems to be built with some lose, tightning it make the arm too stiff to track properly. I' ve seen bearings making pits on the shaft and the bottom holder, that causes a lot of friction.
For the side bearings, the pin that goes into the bearing is always locked tight with the locking collar, thus it will not go any further in the bearing to remove the play, the collar os tight to the side of the arm , so no possibility of moving it more inside. Sometimes i get the pins free by putting them in W40 for days, then heat them and turning them while holding the lock part in a vise, sometimes they don' t move at all. If the arm tracks, leave it that way.