American wants to fix this old PE 2038

Hello, I am embarrassed to have to use English but I cannot do this in German. I am the proud owner of a PE 2038 I bought in 1970 a few months before I got married. I didn't use it from about 1980 to 2002, and it developed some "age issues" in that time. One problem is the tone arm does not move across the record when it should be on auto. In manual, the lift lever won't remain up (flops). At the end of the record, the tonearm won't pick up and return to rest. Lastly, in about 2005, the unit refused to turn off after placing the tone arm on the rest. I am hoping that Kai Platten or others, like Bepone, are listening, as I have read some of their suggestions on Dual-Board and they seem to know what they are talking about.

First, let me tell you I am not an engineer. I am just a do-it-yourself guy who likes to solve a hard puzzle, and this turntable fits that nicely. About 2 weeks ago after reading threads on Dual-Board and AudioKarma I decided to pull apart the turntable, using instruction and part #s in the 2020 Service manual, the ELPA Marketing instructions and Kai Platten's document from 2021. I was careful and slow and made good progress. The copper sheet part of #150 is lacking the clutch pad/friction bushing pimpel, so I was about to replace that with a chunk of tire rubber (like K. Platten suggested). I need to know the thickness of that chunk. But before I make any clutch pads, I have a few questions.

1. Is it true I need to fully remove the part #150, feed lever in order to glue the rubber chunk/clutch pad to the copper plate. I can't remove both C clips on the part 150 without tearing everything out of the underside of the chassis. And I thought maybe I could glue on the rubber chunk without doing that.

2. Before I start on question #1 I need to know (in simple non-technical language) what is the symptom of a failed tone arm pimpel. Is the symptom that the tonearm fails to rise when the automatic cycle begins? I read a thread on AudioKarma by dbxdx5 (Matt) that reads --> " While I was working on replacing broken tonearm wire, I noticed what looks like a missing "steuerpimpel" (for lack of a better word) located under the tonearm bearing frame. All that was left was some crud inside what looks like a hole for mounting this "steuerpimpel" that mates with the top of the lift rod. "

The "lift rod" should be part #57, which according to the ELPA Marketing document can be removed without tearing open the tonearm. I don't want to open up the tonearm if that causes bearings to fall out. How can I be sure that the tonearm or lift rod pimpel is bad before I go any further? Is there a simple test I can do?

2.5 (Assuming removal of tonearm is the next step to be done) After removing the tonearm entirely from the chassis (as described in the ELPA Marketing document) can I look inside the tonearm to see where the tonearm pimpel should be? I am attaching pictures taken by Kai Platten, showing the tone arm turned over, revealing the crumbled pimpel, and the second picture showing it was replaced with a metal(?) screw. Bepone suggested using a nylon screw instead of metal. Which is better?

2.6 Finally, I am not sure how to release the tonearm so it comes out completely (without unsoldering) from the underneath of the chassis, after loosening the tone arm wires from their clips (as stated in the ELPA Marketing document). It seems the nut that needs to be removed is hex nut #24, but for the life of me I can't see it. Is it underneath the locator segment #184, and do I have to completely remove locator segment #184 in order to access this nut? Since my tone arm lever flops, I am certain I need to add cuing fluid to the lift rod, but that is not the whole issue if the tone arm isn't going to lift up when it should.

I'm sorry to have to write all this in English so I'm hoping you have a good translator. Google Translate is better than nothing, but it's not great.

And I hope the number of questions is not too much. I wanted to get it all out there at once.

Hoping this finds some folks who have tried this before and figured it all out!

best and warm feelings from Atlanta, Georgia,

-Lytt

HAH, that is rich, Norbert! It is funny that with all the amazing engineering those old PE people put into their turntables, that they could not make clutch pads that were easier to fix. Surely they must have known that clutch material is going to wear out. And when the lower and upper pimpels both wear out, then this makes your turntable a rather expensive doorstop.

- L Y T T

Zitat von Retrostyle

If you want an automatic recordplayer that doesn't have this problem and can change records i would recomend a revised DUAL 1209...

That's a great suggestion. There are a number of old Duals that come up for auction in the U.S. Now that I have learned how to tear apart this old PE 2038, if I can't get it running, I'll take a look for a Dual 1209.

Regards,

L Y T T

By the way, do you have any recommendations on the material that a replacement synthetic screw should be of? I have a picture supplied by Bepone years ago (attached). Another person suggested polyamide. And someone else suggested nylon. I can probably find nylon or vinyl her without to much trouble, I'm most concerned about the tonearm pimpel. I don't want to have to do that horrible one twice.

L Y T T

Zitat

Zitat von Retrostyle

Someone with a 3D-Printer can make you an exact copy of that part. It doesn't have much pressure on it.

OK, thank you. I know someone who understands 3D printers. The length of the screw and thickness of the head are critical, correct? (for the upper pimpel)

L Y T T

Thanks