Tonearm lifter seized

[Longarm]

Hello all,
I have a Sony PS-X60 turntable, circa 1978. It is a beast, the chassis being constructed of heavy diecast. I took it out of storage and have found that the tonearm lifter shaft is seized. The lever moves smoothly but the polished stainless lifter shaft appears to be seized solid. I've read that this could be for a couple of reasons, a) due to corrosion between the stainless lifter shaft and the diecast body and/or b) the silicone oil that lubricates the lifter cam has hardened and jammed the mechanism.
My understanding is that the silicone oil is very heavy and, over the years, can become extremely hard and difficult to remove from the cam.
Can anyone offer tips or advice on a good and trusted solvent that could be used to soften and clean the old silicone oil out of the cam and that would safely dissolve any corrosion between the stainless lifter shaft and diecast chassis?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Craig

 

[Fishead]

Welcome to AK, Craig! I'm not sure about how to do it with your Sony but my turntable has a lift mechanism that was developed by Rega and also uses silicone oil. I did some re-working of it because it was dropping too quickly and if I remember correctly, I just used 91% isopropyl alcohol on a rag to wipe it down to where it was clean. I've read that one can also use Naptha (lighter fluid). Then re-applied a somewhat heavier oil that tamed the rough drop and it now functions very well. Have you removed and taken apart the lifter assembly yet? There is a service manual over on vinylengine.com that you can download (you have to log in but it's free) that explains how to do that if you haven't done so yet. My guess is this will be necessary to get at all the surfaces that were originally coated with the oil that has now become dried and stiff. Once you have it apart and can get it cleaned up, you will then need to source some new silicone oil and I'm not sure what the viscosity might be. Sony just lists a part number for the oil and does not give the precise viscosity in the service manual but you should be able to determine this through trial and error if nothing else. I started with some 300,000CST but that was too thin....added a bit of 500,000 and it did the trick. 500,000 alone was too thick though. Hope you can get it sorted out.

 

[gridleakrick]

To free up the seized parts, I would start by dribbling some isopropyl alcohol into the parts. If that does not work, the next step is to apply heat. I have an old Weller 300 watt soldering gun which I use frequently for such things and it works every time. Let up now know it turns out. Good luck.
Rick

 

[Longarm]

Welcome to AK, Craig! I'm not sure about how to do it with your Sony but my turntable has a lift mechanism that was developed by Rega and also uses silicone oil. I did some re-working of it because it was dropping too quickly and if I remember correctly, I just used 91% isopropyl alcohol on a rag to wipe it down to where it was clean. I've read that one can also use Naptha (lighter fluid). Then re-applied a somewhat heavier oil that tamed the rough drop and it now functions very well. Have you removed and taken apart the lifter assembly yet? There is a service manual over on vinylengine.com that you can download (you have to log in but it's free) that explains how to do that if you haven't done so yet. My guess is this will be necessary to get at all the surfaces that were originally coated with the oil that has now become dried and stiff. Once you have it apart and can get it cleaned up, you will then need to source some new silicone oil and I'm not sure what the viscosity might be. Sony just lists a part number for the oil and does not give the precise viscosity in the service manual but you should be able to determine this through trial and error if nothing else. I started with some 300,000CST but that was too thin....added a bit of 500,000 and it did the trick. 500,000 alone was too thick though. Hope you can get it sorted out.

Thanks! I actually had obtained the service manual through vinylengine and I think you're right, that the viscosity for the damping oil is at least 500,000CST. I'm gonna try the isopropyl alcohol and if that doesn't work I'll get some naptha.

 

[Longarm]

To free up the seized parts, I would start by dribbling some isopropyl alcohol into the parts. If that does not work, the next step is to apply heat. I have an old Weller 300 watt soldering gun which I use frequently for such things and it works every time. Let up now know it turns out. Good luck.
Rick

Hi Rick,
I'll try the isopropyl alcohol, for sure. I do have a soldering iron so if I don't have success with alcohol or Naphtha, as suggested by another member, I'll apply heat. Thanks

 

[Ace1368]

Hi Rick,
I'll try the isopropyl alcohol, for sure. I do have a soldering iron so if I don't have success with alcohol or Naphtha, as suggested by another member, I'll apply heat. Thanks

I have the same issue, the Push-rod Assembly is frozen in the Tonearm Base. I was wondering how you made out?




I was able to fix a similar issue with the push-rod on a PS-X6, but that mechanism is quite different, and the shaft wasn't completely frozen. I used 300,000 viscosity silicone oil.



The service manual for the PS=x60 mentions that silicone oil ( 7-661-012-15 ) is used on the lifter cam assembly.



I Googled it and found a page that states the viscosity is 30,000.



The cam on mine moves, a bit gummy, but the spring tension is enough to pull it back without assistance. I plan on trying the 30K on the push-rod to see how that works. If it drops too fast, I can try the 300K I used on the PS-X6.

But I have to get the push-rod un-seized first, and I'm curious what, if anything, worked for you.

 

[Thunderbox]

Hello all,
I have a Sony PS-X60 turntable, circa 1978. It is a beast, the chassis being constructed of heavy diecast. I took it out of storage and have found that the tonearm lifter shaft is seized. The lever moves smoothly but the polished stainless lifter shaft appears to be seized solid. I've read that this could be for a couple of reasons, a) due to corrosion between the stainless lifter shaft and the diecast body and/or b) the silicone oil that lubricates the lifter cam has hardened and jammed the mechanism.
My understanding is that the silicone oil is very heavy and, over the years, can become extremely hard and difficult to remove from the cam.
Can anyone offer tips or advice on a good and trusted solvent that could be used to soften and clean the old silicone oil out of the cam and that would safely dissolve any corrosion between the stainless lifter shaft and diecast chassis?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Craig

Have you played it yet. Some turntables are built that under some conditions the cue is pushed up with a mecanism from underneath. If you haven't tried yet cycle the auto play and reject through a cycle.

 

[Sandysound]

Wish I found this thread earlier, I just solved the same issue, but I did not want to use heat, so I went with mechanical advantage to free it.
You can watch my journey here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOwUCwvGh6bPx_hDWWIw-vC16HbnLZWW7