How to add oil to the cueing mechanism of a Yamaha PF-800 and PF-1000 turntable

ZEROTANGO

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Adding oil to the cueing mechanism of a Yamaha PF-800 and PF-1000 turntable


When it came time to resolve the issue with a rapid descent of the tonearm, instructions were not available. The service manual is of little help. Here are some Instructions that I have made for others that will eventually need to do so. Method 1 is a quick way to add oil without inspection. Method two involves removing the tone arm for inspection and cleaning.

When activating the cueing mechanism a signal is sent to a solenoid which retracts a lever, a cylinder shaft drops the tonearm onto the disc. To slow this process a thick and viscous oil surrounds the shaft and decreases the rate of descent. When the cueing is activated again the solenoid is depressed the lever and a spring resurfaces the tonearm.

PF-80012.jpg



Tools and supplies that you will need:


3mm Allen wrench

1.5mm Allen wrench

Needle nose pliers

Empty jar to hold tonearm in place (Not needed in method 1)

30, 000WT or 50,000WT silicon diff oil (Availabe at radio controlled car shop or online)



Method one, the easy way:


Remove dust cover. Remove headshell and cartridge to prevent possible damage if the tone arm swings away while manipulation.

Attach the tone arm across the receiver, it will prevent swaying.(see picture)


PF-80013.jpg






To remove the Allen cap screw that holds the tone arm rest hold the shaft with needle nose pliers. With a 1.5mm allen wrench remove the screw. Set aside. (See picture)


PF-800.jpg





If the cylinder reservoir is empty fill with 30,000WT silicon oil. You could also try the 50,000WT, the 30,000WT is a little fast. Fill to the mini plug level on the side. Do not Overfill. (See picture)


PF-8002.jpg



PF-8004.jpg





Depress the shaft several times to distribute the oil evenly

Wait several hours for the oil to effectively slow the rate of descent.

Re-install arm rest and screw.

Re-install headshell and cartridge

Re-install dust cover


Method two, Inspection and cleaning:


Remove the three Allen cap screws with the 3mm wrench. (See picture)


PF-80016.jpg






Gently Pull aside the tone arm assembly remove the ground wire. With a pair of pliers remove the two quick connections. Do not pull on the wires.


PF-80014.jpg






Place Tone arm assembly on top of a jar.

Now is the perfect time to clean and inpect the cavity of the deck. If the cavity of the deck is filled with oil the rubber washer may be dried out or damaged and will need to be replaced. Further dissasembly of the shaft will be required by removing the black cross lever, spring and shaft.

You can continue to dissasemble the upper tray to get to the motor, speed and pitch controls etc.

To remove the Allen cap screw that holds the tone arm rest, push the spring aside and hold the shaft with needle nose pliers. With a 1.5mm allen wrench remove the screw. Set aside. (See picture)


PF-80011.jpg






If the cylinder reservoir is empty fill with 30,000WT silicon oil. You could also try the 50,000WT, the 30,000WT is a little fast. Fill to the mini plug level on the side. Do not Overfill. (Same as method 1)

Depress the shaft several times to distribute the oil evenly

Wait several hours for the oil to effectively slow the rate of descent.

Re-install arm rest and screw.

Re-install ground wire and the two quick connectors

Re-install tonearm assembly

Re-install headshell and cartridge

Re-install dust cover


While you are at it, it is a good time to do other maintenance like re-lubing the idler shaft under the tray with sewing machine oil, removing dust under the tabble tray, cleaning the speed potentiometers. Dust kills electronics if a spark jumps around as the dust acts as a conductor.
 
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Outstanding presentation! Welcome to AK,I think you'll fit in.:D
 
Thanks for this - i have this issue on mine. in Method 1 do you put the oil in the gap next to the Silver shaft i cant see from the pics.
 
I'm having the same issue with my cueing lever. The issue is the hex on mine is stripped. Does the silicon oil go straight into the piston, where the hex is, or does it go between in the the piston housing?
 
All I could find in my local hobby shops was 60,000wt. Hope it's not TOO thick. Sure it will take extra long time to settle into the bottom of the reservoir. Once it does, I'm fine with any extra time it will take for the tonearm to go down.

Mine ran completely dry after I stored the tt in its original box on its side for a few months.

Now I just need to find a way to fix the counter weight fine tuning knob. The spring wants to return it to the minimum setting instead of the 1.5 I need.
 
All I could find in my local hobby shops was 60,000wt. Hope it's not TOO thick. Sure it will take extra long time to settle into the bottom of the reservoir. Once it does, I'm fine with any extra time it will take for the tonearm to go down.

Mine ran completely dry after I stored the tt in its original box on its side for a few months.

Now I just need to find a way to fix the counter weight fine tuning knob. The spring wants to return it to the minimum setting instead of the 1.5 I need.
60,000wt will do fine. I used 100,000wt on my mine.Been working great for a few years now.
 
Does anybody have a pic of the cueing shaft? I added oil and no change in rate of descent. So I removed the tonearm and the shaft, cleaned everything off, put it back together and refilled with 50k. It seems a little better but still faster than I would like. There is a "pop" when it lands.

In the original post I see "the rubber washer may be dried out or damaged and will need to be replaced". But I dont see a rubber washer?
 
All I could find in my local hobby shops was 60,000wt. Hope it's not TOO thick. Sure it will take extra long time to settle into the bottom of the reservoir. Once it does, I'm fine with any extra time it will take for the tonearm to go down.

Mine ran completely dry after I stored the tt in its original box on its side for a few months.

Now I just need to find a way to fix the counter weight fine tuning knob. The spring wants to return it to the minimum setting instead of the 1.5 I need.

I just found this thread. Same cueing issue plus the VTF fine tuning issue. Did you ever find a way to fix that? Thnks
 
There is a plastic rivet at the end of the VTF spindle which is broken. This part is necessary to provide sufficient friction to prevent the adjustment knob returning to zero.
You can fix this problem by placing a small, approximately 2 - 2.5 x 6 mm screw into the rear end of the axle.
 
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