Lifter problem Marantz TT 6270Q

[mrow2]

It was semi-ok til I started trying to "improve" it. Now the arm drops like a 2lb rock off a 2-story building. Solenoid control, one step, up or down. No damping now. I had some model RR light gear oil, good for plastics, put some on the rod and now it's not working right. Any suggestions? Can I remove the device and clean it? Thanks Don

[analogaudio]

Yes probably you can service it, probably the light oil diluted the grease that was in there originally. You'll need some grease to put in when it is cleaned.

Depending on how it's built it can sometimes be tricky to get something like that apart, you might just decide to live with it and lift the arm over by hand.

Have you checked the library for a service manual?

Ted

[Steerpike_jhb]

On this one the arm does come right out - after unsoldering it from underneath, and removing the lever that triggers the auto-shutoff.
There is an allen key in the arm base - accessible directly from the back. Losening that gets the arm out.
Then 3 screws accessible from the top will release & allow you to take out the arm base in which the antiskate, cue lever and damping rod are mounted.

The rod and its sleeve will have to be cleaned off with alcohol or similar solvent, then 100 000 centipoise silicone oil applied to the rod & sleeve.

[mrow2]

I was able to remove the lifter damper device, actually quite easy with this one. It's solenoid operated, just remove one screw, turn the solenoid assembly away, and pull the lifter out after removing the armrest on top.
I cleaned it before looking here, reapplied some lithium grease that's good with plastics too, and tried it. Unfortunately the arm still wants to go into orbit when I press "UP" and some fooling around with the spring has made it drop more reasonably, not quite like a brick off a building. But it's still not acceptable.

Is there an automotive equivalent for centipoise silicone oil that might be easy to obtain? The white lithium grease I thought had some consistency but the lifter damper flies right through it. What I saw in the lifter prior to removing appeared to be more like grease than oil. Anyway cleaning it is no problem.

[mrow2]

I finished with the lifter rehab. Here is how it turned out, and some observations I made. I fretted about the grease to use in it, didn't want to take time to wait for an online order nor did I want to overspend for that. After trying model RR grease (a plastic friendly lithium based grease I think) (arm fell like a rock) I tried standard automotive lithium grease (kinda similar ) and the result was the same. I went to a bike store and looked at what they had (10 bucks for a tube of this or that) I walked down the plumbing aisle of the big hardware store here and recognized something I have in my toolbox... plumber's pipe thread grease, clear silicone based... they sell little two inch tubs of it for a couple bucks. I had some at home, forgot I had it.

Took the TT apart for the upteenth time and removed the rock-smashing lifter, cleaned it up once again and reloaded it with this silicone stuff, which feels like good quality grease you could use on anything. The arm drops like a feather now, and doesn't enter orbit when I press UP. i.e., it works. The viscosity seems to be everything as it relates to this problem. I've included links to pics of how this particular one is positioned.

Overall bottom view
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243 ... amperc.jpg

The small tub of silicone grease
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243 ... amperd.jpg

shaft has been pulled, grease loaded around the shaft, and shaft reinserted
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243 ... ampera.jpg

Deck view. Arm lifts and drops slowly and gently now.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243 ... opdeck.jpg

Compared with some that I've seen described, this one's easy to get to. For as many times as I had to try different variations, I'm glad I didn't have to mess with the tonearm, other than to jockey it around to remove the lifter rest each time. -- Don

[analogaudio]

Thanks for the pics, nice looking deck too. Glad things worked out.

Ted

[Blue Angel]

Hi

This is a really useful post, thanks. I have lifts here with similar problems and also tried various greases without much success. I eventually solved the problem by replacing the problem lifts with others which took me a long time to find.

ba

[mrow2]

Hi I know there's a grease mentioned here at the forum, don't know what it's called. Since I wanted to try to use something I had locally that became my dilemma and it turned out the solution was right under my nose, in my plumbing box. The specific product I used is Danco Silicone Grease. Doesn't have viscosity numbers, but it has the consistency of Vaseline (used for rashes) and the fine print says certified to ANSI/NSF-61 but I didn't look that up to see what it translates to. I think this is a USA product, and they have a web presence since I've looked up spare plumbing valve parts in the past. This is handy stuff and I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner because I do use it from time to time. One little 1.75 inch tub of it would probably repair 30 turntables. I would guess that different lifters might require different viscosity ratings, depending on the designs. But for a loosely set brass piston in brass cyllinder, with lateral channels to hold the grease, this seems perfect. I really loaded it up, too, thus the arm is slow in dropping, but it looks great. The arm rest continues to drip, ensuring that it won't drag on the tonearm. - Don

[mrow2]

I looked up ANSI/NSF-61 and it ralates to clean water and plumbing applications, for which this Danco grease was designed. Nonetheless, it is silicone based, and works great in the lifter piston.

[Steerpike_jhb]

Silicone grease with very high viscosity (50000cps and up) can be had from places that sell parts for model racing cars. The 1/12 scale models use medium viscosity grease; if you want really high viscosity you need to go to hobbyists who deal in 1/6 scale cars.

[mrow2]

OK this is good to know, thanks.

[magnecord]

Is it possible for you to upload the pictures again? photobucket says that they are not vailable any longer, thanks; great post!

I finished with the lifter rehab. Here is how it turned out, and some observations I made. I fretted about the grease to use in it, didn't want to take time to wait for an online order nor did I want to overspend for that. After trying model RR grease (a plastic friendly lithium based grease I think) (arm fell like a rock) I tried standard automotive lithium grease (kinda similar ) and the result was the same. I went to a bike store and looked at what they had (10 bucks for a tube of this or that) I walked down the plumbing aisle of the big hardware store here and recognized something I have in my toolbox... plumber's pipe thread grease, clear silicone based... they sell little two inch tubs of it for a couple bucks. I had some at home, forgot I had it.

Took the TT apart for the upteenth time and removed the rock-smashing lifter, cleaned it up once again and reloaded it with this silicone stuff, which feels like good quality grease you could use on anything. The arm drops like a feather now, and doesn't enter orbit when I press UP. i.e., it works. The viscosity seems to be everything as it relates to this problem. I've included links to pics of how this particular one is positioned.

Overall bottom view
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243 ... amperc.jpg

The small tub of silicone grease
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243 ... amperd.jpg

shaft has been pulled, grease loaded around the shaft, and shaft reinserted
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243 ... ampera.jpg

Deck view. Arm lifts and drops slowly and gently now.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243 ... opdeck.jpg

Compared with some that I've seen described, this one's easy to get to. For as many times as I had to try different variations, I'm glad I didn't have to mess with the tonearm, other than to jockey it around to remove the lifter rest each time. -- Don