I recently purchased a WM-190 with all caps and belt replaced. I know this model is notorious for problems but seeing that the caps are probably the most difficult to fix I found it a good deal. It's in excellent cosmetic condition too. I know about the clutch gear too. Unfortunately, my problem came from elsewhere. Today my supply reel just "popped off". I'm not entirely sure what would be a good solution for this problem, and I was hoping that you would be able to help. I also hear some clicking noises sometimes in forward mode when I start it up. I'm guessing this is from the clutch gear being split and skipping some teeth? It settles rather fast, but this is also quite worrisome. Update: I took a look inside. These reel gears are nylon I believe. The reverse gear is upside down and I cannot see a crack. (The underside is black and a different material, have no clue what it is since I need a soldering iron to properly take it apart and I have to grab one.) I’m guessing the solution is glue. I’m not sure what the actual reel is made of. What kind of glue would be preferable here? Update 2: Managed to put the shaft back. What I noticed is the reverse shaft moves a tiny bit periodically when the forward mode is on. I feel like reverse gear is touching the one above it (which looks a bit like an S). It's possible that I didn't push it all the way in (at this point I'm refusing to say "shaft" ). I also noticed that when running it empty and forward it doesn't always flip back. AFAIK the auto-reverse function checks the reverse gear speed, and it should immediately go in reverse when running empty. Strange. After running it for a while in reverse the reel shaft popped out again, so this needs to be glued. Not sure how much torque it would have to take, but on the common problems page and on the fixyouraudio clutch store page they both mention that it can be glued.
This mechanism has a common problem with the gears on the other side developing a hairline crack. Solution is to glue the reel shaft to the gear. Liquid type super glue is the one to use here, preferably a good brand like Loctite. If the gear is fully cracked, enlarging it a bit with a drill bit is necessary in order to have uniform gap between all teeth. Before glueing the gear, lubricate the reel shaft. Note that it is necessary to remove the PCB and get to the gear. If you put glue from the reel side, you risk glueing it to the plastic bushing and seizing it.
Yes, I just came across the problem on the WM-190 the Supply Reel came apart on top with Spring and there is a very thin clear washer. What gear does the supply reel stay in? I assume it's tappered fit? I have a new clutch gear also. Just need to unsolder the two Flex cables carefully off the pcb. Thanks
