Vent: A stuck aperture ring on a Pentax Spotmatic ate up my whole Saturday

I thought it was just some old grease, so I started with a basic clean and lube. After three hours of trying every solvent I had, I finally spotted a tiny, bent spring clip jamming the mechanism from inside. Getting that out without messing up the blades took another two hours with a pair of micro tweezers. Has anyone else run into a hidden spring causing havoc on these old SLRs?

2 comments

2 Comments

loganprice2d ago

Those bent spring clips are a known weak point on some Spotmatics. Did you check the condition of the aperture cam follower? A worn cam can put extra sideways pressure on that clip, bending it over time.

dakota_burns961d ago

Have you tried bending it back with needle-nose pliers?