Biggest pain is getting the wire braid loose to free the amp driver boards. Also I do believe the big problem with that board was those black square diodes mounted on top of the pre-driver transistors. Some users have also reported legs on those transistors in their unit were rotting away. Those diodes tended to fail going open and cause the amp circuit to go into thermal runaway. That kit should be giving you the parts for the @skippy124 mod replacing those transistors with the BD139/BD140 pair and using 1N4148 diodes shrink wrapped to each of them.
Those braids are what scared me off. I wasn't ready for that. Honestly, it was a good thing though. As much trouble as the first tech had with my 5000A, I'd have been in way over my head.
The tech who did my F-1040 mods has maintained an electronics repair shop here in town for a couple of decades so I assumed he could handle this limited assignment and it would be a good start to getting to know him. Well, what I learned from dealing with him directly which was later confirmed by many in the local audio community, is that he can be very difficult to deal with and he's a real crank. He struggled mightily to get one of the channels under control. He called me very angry and wound up after a couple of weeks. He said the kit was short parts (I seriously doubt that) and that he'd had to order additional replacements. He went on to explain that he'd actually blown the outputs on troublesome channel and would have to order replacement which he'd found. I believe that's one of the problems we were trying to avoid! I authorized him to proceed, at my expense, because I realized immediately I didn't want to argue with him and I just wanted my 5000A back and working. Anyway, another couple of weeks and a significant amount of money later, he told me to come pick it up. He literally gave me a five second demonstration that it was working and shoed me out of his shop bitching and moaning about Sansui the whole time.
That was back in April. My 5000A has worked just fine since and it does sound great. It's also a nice clean example (one original owner before me). I noticed the shrink-wrapped diodes at D801/802 (if I recall correctly?), and they both look sloppy and they look different from each other. One and done with that guy after that experience. Thus, I've now sent it back out to the good Sansui guy and asked him check the first guy's work and do his usual overhaul and adjustments to the rest of the unit. It's worth it to me.
I found the easiest way to remove the braided grounds from the boards was to snip them about 1/2" off the board. There was enough slack to solder them together when I was done.
This is good to know. The drivers in my 800 appear to be installed the same way if I remember correctly. Haven't felt the need to do anything with that one yet because it works great, but for future reference, this is helpful.
Maybe I should look for a tech in the PNW area, it sounds like it's worth throwing money at this model. I think these 60s/early 70s receivers are beautiful, particularly this one, and the original wooden case I got is in pretty great condition.
100% worth it however you get there. Don't be discouraged. It can take some time and lots of patience to get these vintage beauties sounding their best. If your unit is in good cosmetic condition, you can be reasonably confident that it was well taken care of, likely works fine, and sounds amazing. You can be sure the build quality is excellent and that's why these receivers are so reliable and work so well 50+ years later. I was in the exact same boat last Spring as you are now. I found my mint 5000A locally living with the original owner's granddaughter. Original service manual and schematic included. I was very excited to have made my first in-person local purchase only to return home with it, post here in my novice excitement, and be quickly educated about the damn F-1040s! The 5000A is a very worthy receiver. It just happens to come with some critical special needs. Keep us posted on your decision making and progress.
