Manual? What manual? ;-) Actually, my manual is in my head. That retainer IS what's holding the cover on. It's right hand thread, usually easy to remove, however yours looks like a very tiny drop of penetrating oil might help. I use a spanner wrench designed for these but a needle nose or snap ring plier will work if it fits in the slots firmly.
Don > -----Original Message----- > From: Francis [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 3:34 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: Soliciting all stray brain waves (P3n repair):( > > > Don Sanderson wrote: > > >OK, the Burritos were good and I'm full. > >To the P3n before I fall asleep. ;-) > > > >YES, it is a left hand thread, like all Pentax > >shutter lever nuts and screws. > >The P30 I have here is one I had trouble with. > >I very carefully grabbed the screw with a good, > >well machined pair of pliers to break it loose. > >I can still see the marks. > >After re-assembly I tightened the screw firmly > >but not so tight as to have trouble the next > >time. > >A dab of contact cement to keep it from coming > >loose and it was good to go. > > > >I do remember the worst one I had I had to cut > >a slot in the screw so I could use a large > >straight tip screwdriver. Thank you Dremel. ;-) > > > >HTH > >Don > > > > > > > Thanks a lot for investigating that! > That little piece of information made things much simpler.;-) > > Now... > Do you know how I get that cover off? It's all loose except where the > advance lever was attached. There is a rusty steel fitting around the > advance lever shaft that seems to be set up so that it can be turned > with a specialized wrenchy thingy (I gave it a good crank with a couple > of screw drivers but it didn't show any sign of turning), and somewhere > in that vicinity the top cover is being retarded on its upward journey. > Here is a photo of the offender: > http://www.photosynth.ca/photo/f/p3n1.html > Does your manual say anything about that? > > Thanks again for your help, > Francis >

