Re: Apple //c+ Disk Drive Repair

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Mark Cummings wrote:

>> By the way, what do you use for lubricant? And what should be
>> lubricated?
>
>white or clear silicon based lubricant is good, but I have this horrible
>black version (like grease) that still works. or you can use silicon spray.
>if you use grease, use the smallest amount on a toothpick to apply it.
>first remove all the dust, use an air compressor or similar if you can in
>combination with a soft long bristled brush. this should get rid of most of
>the dust. often the dust prevents the disk from dropping in quickly, as it
>should. use an old unwanted disk, or one of those yellow plastic
>transportation disks to test the insert mechanism. use the manual eject
>lever to eject it.
>
>use a small amount of the silicon spray or grease on all areas where the
>metal surfaced rub together and the pivot points. try not to get too much on
>there because the action of the disk slamming into the drive can cause it to
>splatter into unwanted spots, like the heads. operate the insert/eject
>mechanism until you are happy with the sound of it slamming in. this also
>helps you see where the lubricant is needed.

To this excellent advice I would only add:  always use the absolute
_least_ amount of lubricant that you can get away with.  Lubricant
is the "adhesive" that keeps dust and dirt in place, so every bit of
lubricant is going to be collecting dirt from the air until you have to
clean it again.  ;-)

Also, many lubricants tend to spread, "wetting" surfaces with
lubricant as they go.  This causes more dirt accumulation and
can get into places where lubricant should not be.  This is a
good reason to prefer grease to oil, and is another reason to
go _very lightly_ with lubricants.

-michael

Check out amazing quality 8-bit Apple sound on my
Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/