Hi folks, Does anyone have -- or does anyone know where I can find -- a partial or complete exploded parts diagram for a 6x7? I've got the non-MLU model, but I suspect the later MLU models are similar (if not identical) in the area I'm interested. I know I can get a 6x7 service manual on CD via eBay for about $15, and what appears to be a detailed hardcopy service manual via eBay for about $25. Are these any good? Any other options? Can I get a service manual from Pentax Colorado or Pentax Canada? The foam seals in the back are pretty gummy too, and I might want to replace these. Is that pretty straightforward, and is the $15 foam seal kit I see on eBay a good way to go, or is it better to pay the $60 or $80 US (or more?) and let someone else do it?
For those who are interested, here are the gory details that prompt my questions. I discovered last night that the shutter speed selector knob on my new (to me) 6x7 body does not seem to properly "click" onto the speed settings. Instead, it just free-wheels with no click-stops. As long as I position the dial just so, the shutter works fine. However, if I don't quite get it positioned correctly, the shutter behaves as if set on a "T" setting (press button to open shutter and raise mirror; press again to close shutter and lower mirror). This behavior is normal if you're ~between~ click-stops. Naturally, I want my click-stops working properly so I don't waste any frames. Also looks like the axis on which this dial rotates is not perfectly vertical with respect to the top plate -- I suspect the shutter speed dial got whacked by something at some point in the distant past. I already dug part way into the repairs last night. (But I'd still like an exploded parts diagram, in case I need to order any parts, etc.) Those giant bodies are a pleasure to work on! Simple layout, big parts, very intuitive -- I like it! I took off the shutter dial, the brass bushing (?? -- not sure what these are called) underneath, and the black top plate section on that side. I then unscrewed the screws holding the rotary switch assembly, and I moved this switch aside to reveal the "click-stop" assembly below. There's a spring washer with a little protrusion -- this washer is supposed to be secured to the baseplate by a single screw. The protrusion points down and pushes a little ball bearing against a little round wheel underneath -- this wheel has 13 (?) holes drilled around its circumference. This wheel is coupled through a keyed shaft to the brass bushing-thingy (shutter speed selector). When the brass bushing-thingy turns, it causes the wheel with the holes to turn, and the little ball bearing clicks into place every time a little hole passes underneath it. Wish I had a picture show you. Anyway, I have the ball bearing and the little spring washer, but the screw that's supposed to hold the washer is too short. (Someone may have tried to fix this long ago, but obviously didn't do it right.) I turned the whole body upside-down after removing all the obvious loose parts, then tapped it carefully, and I noticed that a broken screw and a tiny washer fell out! These might have been the correct parts for securing the spring washer. I'm just wondering if there's anything else that's supposed to go into this click-stop mechanism. Also, the silver colored shaft (the one that the brass bushing-thingy slides over the top of) clearly looks to be just a tad askew -- not quite vertical with respect to the baseplate. I'm wondering if the baseplate is bent, or just this little silver colored shaft. I'm hoping it's just this shaft. I could straighten it out -- I ~think~ -- if I could get it out of the camera. But I need to lift the baseplate and remove this silver colored shaft from underneath. Or maybe get a replacement part from Pentax, if I knew the part name and part number. (Which is why that exploded parts diagram would be handy.) Or I could learn to live with things slightly askew. Anyone know if this baseplate (that is, the hunk of aluminum immediately underneath the shutter speed rotary switch) is easy to loosen and remove? Sorry for all the gruesome details and many questions, but I'd be eternally grateful if someone could point me in the right direction for parts diagrams and replacement parts. Many thanks in advance, Bill Peifer Rochester, NY - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
