Leica R3 ELECTRONIC: Stiff mirror mechanism repaired

[Andreas Thaler]

The shortcut with Zippo, Nyoil, syringe and cannula worked on my Nikon F4, but not here.

What I have seen is enough.

It is not possible to control the placement of the oil this way. If you add Zippo, you have a diluted oil soup that spreads. Even small amounts are enough for that.

The only option is to dismantle the camera and try to solve the problem on site.

In the case of the Leica R3 with its cabling, this is an adventure that I would have liked to have avoided.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

I am disillusioned after this shortcut.

So much so that I am going to open up and clean my Nikon F4, which I had recently cured of the sluggish aperture lever „with the syringe“. I have to do another F4 anyway so I can repeat the process.

The desire to avoid a risky repair attempt by taking a shortcut is a good one. But it doesn't work like this.

If I can reliably reach the area that needs to be cleaned and lubricated, I can do it with the syringe, in a well-dosed manner. But shooting in roughly, and a little more, just makes a mess

 

[Andreas Thaler]

The shortcut didn't work, the mirror is stuck again.

So all I can do is remove the mirror box and look at the problem on site. Then I can also assess how much oil the shortcut has distributed where. In any case, it is mixed with Zippo and is sitting on the shutter blades. But that can be cleaned.

Wish me luck, I'm going to need it

Disassembly to clean the mirror mechanism and the surrounding area

I made good progress with the disassembly.

And fortunately I was able to pull the mirror box far enough out of the housing without having to unsolder any cables.

The mirror mechanism is now accessible and I can clean and lubricate it.

The three upper housing parts must be removed.

Fixed to work

The mirror mechanism, which I tried to clean and oil from the outside with the syringe.

Everything looks dry. No oil or grease.

The arrow points up from the bottom to top for orientation.

The oil I put in can be seen on the front shutter curtain, below the film window, on the bottom of the mirror box and on the bottom of the rear housing.

I'll clean that up as best I can with Zippo lighter fluid.

The arrows point up from the bottom to top for orientation.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Oiling, assembly and testing

Since there is no longer any lubrication visible here and everything is dry, I use the oiler to apply some Nyoil to all accessible axes.

In my training R3 there were traces of grease there.

Leitz must have known what they were using to lubricate, I only use light oil and hope that it lasts. If not, that can be changed.

A first test to see if the camera triggers after installing the mirror box.

To do this, I cock the shutter and set the shutter times with the pliers, and trigger it with the spudger (plastic rod).

Everything is fine, the fixed shutter speeds sound plausible and the mirror now moves instantly without any delay

Attaching the two side top covers.

All controls are mounted.

Now, with a lens attached, I check aperture priority, both exposure metering modes, the metering memory and the combined ASA/exposure compensation.

Everything works

The R3 is complete again

Two problems remain.

1. There is still oil on the shutter blades, which occasionally hinders the shutter process. I treat this by putting Zippo on the shutter curtains, cocking and releasing the shutter and removing oil residues with cleaning sticks. This will keep me busy for some time because oil is stubborn. The price to pay for the failed shortcut with the syringe
2. The winding lever occasionally jams after winding. This was already the case before the procedure and is one of the known problems with the R3. Perhaps I will deal with it later.

Some foam parts are falling apart inside the R3, I should remove them. There is also some dirt, but nothing dramatic. New light seals are also due.

Overall, the R3 has held up well over the decades

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Conclusion

• Removing the mirror box enabled a targeted solution of the problem. This required some work, which was easier to do than expected. None of the confusing and numerous cables had to be desoldered.
• The sluggish mirror mechanism, which is also described in other Leica Rs, is obviously due to a lack of lubrication and/or the resinification of old grease.
• The shortcut with a syringe, Zippo lighter fluid and Nyoil from the outside was a failure. The resulting contamination of the shutter blades can be remedied. Residual oil in the camera should not cause problems.

+++

All information provided without guarantee and use at your own risk.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Now clean up and then coffee and cake

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Regarding disassembly of the three-part top cover of a Leica R3 MOT ELECTRONIC of essentially the same design, see

Post in thread 'Leica R3 MOT ELECTRONIC: Heading into the unknown'
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...-heading-into-the-unknown.203430/post-2767280

 

[Andreas Thaler]

There is still oil on the shutter blades, which occasionally hinders the shutter process. I treat this by putting Zippo on the shutter curtains, cocking and releasing the shutter and removing oil residues with cleaning sticks. This will keep me busy for some time because oil is stubborn. The price to pay for the failed shortcut with the syringe

The failed shortcut now brings tragedy into the matter.

I was able to get the mirror mechanism - the original problem - up and running again by means of targeted lubrication.

But now the oil that was previously injected with the syringe is sabotaging the success. The oil is sitting on the shutter blades and they are now stuck after the shutter is released.

Flushing the blades with benzine and releasing the shutter several times did not remove the oil. This is probably because it cannot get out of the guides for the blades.

So the next project is to remove the shutter, clean it and reinstall it.

To do this, it is not enough to just pull the mirror box out a little. I will have to disconnect the lower wiring so that I can fold it up. It will then hang on the upper, denser cable harness.

I will look at the whole thing on my training R3 first.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Overnight, the shutter blades that had been stuck together with oil came loose after I had dripped plenty of benzine onto them with a pipette.

Now the shutter and mirror are working again, with only a few interruptions.

So I'm continuing with benzine and wiping the traces of oil off the blades after each movement. Until nothing more comes out. That will probably take a few days.

The alternative is to remove the shutter with its mechanism attached to the side.

To do that, I would also have to remove the circuit board in the top left of the picture and the coupling with the winding lever:

A laborious adventure that I really want to avoid

 

[Andreas Thaler]

The R3 is doing well, no more oil got on the shutter, the camera releases quickly, all functions are OK.

This project ends successfully

 

[Andreas Thaler]

The winding lever occasionally jams after winding. This was already the case before the procedure and is one of the known problems with the R3. Perhaps I will deal with it later.

Apparently the problem is related to the correct operation of the shutter together with the mirror mechanism.

Since lubricating the mirror mechanism and removing oil from the shutter blades, it no longer occurs on my R3.

This makes sense, as the sequence depends on the correct operation of the previous action.