Coin mechs - graphite OK?

[TurboC--]

I have an original (presumably) Midway coin door with my Pac-man machine.  The mechs work, but the coin returns are extremely hard to push in.  Player 1's is hard enough to hurt the thumb a bit, Player 2's is almost impossible to push without tremendous force.  I have a tube of powerdered graphite which is supposed to be for door locks etc.  Would this be OK to use on the coin returns?  Or what other way can I safely loosen them up?  My current plan is to rig leaf switches behind the mechs, and have them act as reset and pause.

[MaximRecoil]

Have you taken them apart and cleaned them yet? 25 years worth of grime and gunk built up inside there doesn't help. I don't know specifically what a Pac-Man coin mech looks like or how it goes together but taking apart and cleaning my Punch-Out coin mechs worked wonders for the smoothness of the coin returns.

[eccs19]

I have an original (presumably) Midway coin door with my Pac-man machine.

[Ken Layton]

I complained to Midway for years about them not lubricating the coin mech mounting brackets and the linkages that operate the return lever on the coin mechs. I'm busy at the moment, but later tonight, I'll give a detailed report on what you need to do and the lubricants you need to buy.

[TurboC--]

I complained to Midway for years about them not lubricating the coin mech mounting brackets and the linkages that operate the return lever on the coin mechs. I'm busy at the moment, but later tonight, I'll give a detailed report on what you need to do and the lubricants you need to buy.

Sounds excellent, thanks.  Also I don't want to take it apart until I know how to put it back together !

[Ken Layton]

For Midway door lubrication, here is what to buy:

GREASE (any one of the following will do):

Radio Shack # 64-2326 Lube Gel (about $3 a squeeze tube)

Super Lube Synthetic Grease # 21030 (barcode 082353210305) in the squeeze tube. Can be purchased from Lowe's Hardware or most auto parts stores (or www.super-lube.com).

Lubriplate grease (GC Electronics # 10-2302)

Generic white lithium grease

OILS:

Radio Shack # 64-2301 Precision pinpoint oiler with Teflon oil

GC Electronics # 10-8885 Pocket precision oiler

Zoom Spout Oiler (Ace Hardware stores and some industrial supply stores carry this).

What to lubricate on the door:

Open coin door. Flip the coin mech spring-loaded retainers down and tilt the coin mech (or coin chute as us old farts call them) towards you and lift up and out of the mounting bracket.

Swab the coin reject button hole in the mounting bracket with some grease on the end of a Q-tip cotton swab. Don't go overboard with the grease. Work the button in and out to distribute the grease evenly on the button. Now the vertical sliding bar that actuates the coin mech's reject lever gets some grease swabbed onto it's sliding surfaces.

Oil the pivot roll pin where the linkages pivot on it.

What to lubricate on the metal coin mechs:

Oil the hinge pin.

Put one tiny dob of grease on the tip of the pin that makes the magnet gate open when the reject lever is operated.

Now put the coin mechs back in the door and try pushing the coin reject button. Should work nice, slick, and easy.

Remember that Coin Controls coin mechs were NEVER designed for this door and should NEVER be used in it. This door was originally designed and built by Coin Mechanisms, Inc. (a.k.a. Coin Mech) for Midway then Happ Controls took over manufacturing of it. Happ discontinued manufacturing of it ten years ago and many parts are no longer available. So be careful with this door.


The above is what I would always do when I uncrated a brand new Midway game before ever putting it on location. Funny how our games always got all the play and the competitor's machines always had bashed in coin doors cause the coin reject and the coin chutes never would work right, but ours sure worked well!

[TurboC--]

The answer man.  Nice.  Going out shopping tomorrow, I'll add some stuff to my list.

Don't suppose you know what they used to put (blue) speckle on machines?     Tomorrow I go searching for something with huge bristles, cause what I have ain't cutting it...