82-90 Dist Arm and orientation pan has me frustrated PLEASE HELP

[JJYoung]

I recently took over as the mech for a small 12 lane house and 2 of my machines have me.... lets just say slightly miffed.... The Distribiution arm on my #5 rocks side to side and i can see why.... with doing this randomly the pin will not fall flat into its spot and causes jams and also the same machine seemly randomly will have a pin on the belt head first which im sure you all know causes a train derailment"well it looks like one". If anyone can help start me in the right direction i would greatly appreciate it....

[JJYoung]

Sorry *CANT* see why not can

[mike_edge]

First to check for the pn turnning wrong way is check the gap between turn pan and pinwheel aint too big and that its clean. dirty pins can stick and not turn as they are supposed to as well.
As for the unstable dizzy, is this happening just at head pin when idle or when it moves to different bin location, if so does it do it to every bin? if not every bin then which number bins?

[JJYoung]

the dizzy does this all the time moving from bin to bin but its worse when its extended and at its worst when idle at the 1 pin postion. Do u happen to know what the gap between the pan and the pin wheel is reccomended to be at?

[mike_edge]

Im unsure. Been a while since i worked on those type of pans. I use the black plasic ones. no adjustment needed and are bolted to the pinwheel.
As far as i remember we used to just asjust so theywere about 1/4 inch away from pinwheel. keep it close but not close enough to make contact with pinwheel. someone else may know the exact gap size. if its ok then swap the pan with #6 and see if the problem follows onto that lane, if so then change it.

The Dizzy problem sounds like a dodgy clutch to me. But a very badly set up one. When was the clutch last done and how much tension is on the spring?

[JJYoung]

Honestly man i have no clue when it was last done i took over 2 months ago and have been cleaning up spotty worksmanship the whole time from the flunky they had here before me but i do appreciate all the help ill switch those pans and replace the clutch and see where that leaves me thank you again

[mike_edge]

Wow. I do our dizzys about once a month unless i get problems in between.

Well try that and report back.
Good Luck

[BWC]

I would also check to make sure the distributor is mounted securely to the cross frame, and that the u-joint and drive shaft are in okay condition. As mentioned, the clutch could be the main problem as well, maybe way too much tension? I would put the clutch tension to about 3/4 to 1 full turn, to see if you notice an immeadiate difference.

[JJYoung]

Thank you both.... i hope no one minds ill probably be posting quiet a bit as i said ive been around alleys most of my life but this is my first oppurtunity to do it for work so im a novice and will take a little bit to get the feel for this...

[mike_edge]

Here to help.
Which pinspotter are you using? 70's?
If it dont work then check the big white guide wheel and check the condition of it. could be very dirty but sounds more like clutch.
When setting the clutch plates up make sure it is clean and dry before refitting. seen too many techs not clean them properly and they still have fluids on it which will make it slip. Nice and dry is best. also as mentioned, 3/4 to 1 full turn on the spring. start a 3/4 turn, run the lane and see how it goes. wobble should stop but watch it get to the 10 pin, if it dont look very strong getting over there then add 1 notch of tension. this should solve it.

If your planning on using this alot then you may want to register to make it easier for us all to know what equiptment you use.
Which alley are you working at?

[Tablejam]

If the distributor swings everywhere it may be a bad clutch, universal, drive housing or balls, loose or tilted distributor support, loose or bad safety link rod ends or bolts, rear springs may be stretched, height way off,...... basically any of those things can cause it to rock or swing/bounce all over the place. I would suggest start checking the easy things listed above first then work from there as you may find more than one thing causing this.

As far as the head first pin it sort depends what position this happened at. If this is lane 5 and the hard first pin was at the 8 (which means the distributor was at the 7 when the pin came out this way) the pin guide rail may need a slight adjustment forward and/or up to hold the pin a tad longer and not let it fall out so easily. Bad parts will cause this too such as bad rubber mounts for the pin guide rail, bad pin seating rod rubber mount, or even a sloppy pin elevator. As a starting point generally, there is a 'suggested' gap between the pan and pin elevator but it don't matter because it comes down to whatever position makes it run well. Usually the closer the better so set it as close to the elevator as possible without it touching any part of the elevator as the pinwheel rotates and pan turns right and left.

This should be enough to get you started to getting this to get better. Post back with more specific info on the problems and things you are trying and the results and we can help you more.

Sounds like you sort of got tossed into a rats nest, so who knows what was or wasn't done to those machines, which makes things difficult. No worries though, just be patient... it will get better.

[JJYoung]

Actually we have the 82-90's here and i have registered but only within the last couple days and i work at 10 pin alley in little hartford SD right outside of Sioux Falls

[PinCup]

If the distributor swings everywhere it may be a bad clutch, universal, drive housing or balls, loose or tilted distributor support, loose or bad safety link rod ends or bolts, rear springs may be stretched, height way off,...... basically any of those things can cause it to rock or swing/bounce all over the place. I would suggest start checking the easy things listed above first then work from there as you may find more than one thing causing this.

As far as the head first pin it sort depends what position this happened at. If this is lane 5 and the hard first pin was at the 8 (which means the distributor was at the 7 when the pin came out this way) the pin guide rail may need a slight adjustment forward and/or up to hold the pin a tad longer and not let it fall out so easily. Bad parts will cause this too such as bad rubber mounts for the pin guide rail, bad pin seating rod rubber mount, or even a sloppy pin elevator. As a starting point generally, there is a 'suggested' gap between the pan and pin elevator but it don't matter because it comes down to whatever position makes it run well. Usually the closer the better so set it as close to the elevator as possible without it touching any part of the elevator as the pinwheel rotates and pan turns right and left.

This should be enough to get you started to getting this to get better. Post back with more specific info on the problems and things you are trying and the results and we can help you more.

Sounds like you sort of got tossed into a rats nest, so who knows what was or wasn't done to those machines, which makes things difficult. No worries though, just be patient... it will get better.

What HE said! (Dang TJ, always fast on the draw in the AMF forums )


PinCup

[Tablejam]

[8270tom]

Make sure the special spacer is installed on the dist post under the rear carriage assy.