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K-5IIs Lens Mount Repair
Posted By: DaveR, 10-17-2015, 10:20 PM

I don’t post much as I’m time poor and slow on a keyboard, but I have numerous times been much helped by the posts and information given by others, so an opportunity to give back…

A few months ago while on a job covering school age gymnastics, while I was using my 2nd body, a K-5 with a wide lens, my main body (a K-5IIs) with Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 attached, rolled off a trampoline and landed on concrete. I didn’t see it but heard the crash. The lens parted company with the body pulling the mount off the body. I cried, literally.

(see photo 1)


The lens was ok, but it had pulled the metal body mount ring off the body. The 5 mounting points on the body had screw threads pulled out and some had pieces broken off or out of them, meaning that it wasn’t just a case of screwing it back on. Also the metal mount ring and contact spring were also bent. (+ a spring locating pin/spigot was broken off).

(see photos 2,3 & 4)


I sent it to the distributors in Australia (CR Kennedy) for a repair quote and was informed it was not economical to repair, needing a replacement mirror box assembly (the ‘core’ of the camera). This means a full day for a technician replacing and then adjusting and calibrating numerous components to obtain correct alignment. I obtained a Pentax service manual and had some idea of the magnitude of the work involved.

Funds for a K-3II were donated by my generous (& gorgeous) partner and said body obtained. It seemed a shame and a waste of a good body though so I made enquiries about repairing the K-5IIs.

Some of the info I discovered:
· The mirror box seems to be basically the same for all models from K10 through to K3.
· The material is a carbon fibre re-inforced plastic that doesn’t like super glues.
· Alignment is critical to achieve proper focus side to side and top to bottom.
· I didn’t like the idea of just gluing the screws back in so I checked the depth of the screw holes and sought longer screws
· The flash head of a Pentax AF-360FGZ Flash has 2 screws the same diameter (2mm) as the mount ring, but longer – 20mm vs 4.5mm. But the heads are larger and thicker.

(see photos 5,6,7,8 & 9)

------------------
Continued in Part 2

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Last edited by DaveR; 10-17-2015 at 10:29 PM. Reason: Photos didn't appear
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10-17-2015, 10:20 PM - 2 Likes   #2
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K-5IIs Lens Mount Repair - Part 2

Repair Procedure (including some changes due to hindsight):

· Keep debri out of mirror box and other internals

(see photos 1- 6)


· Remove body base plate by removing the 10 screws from underneath
· Remove the front cover by removing the 7 (?) screws, including the one hidden behind the rubber under the ‘K-5IIs’ logo
· The cover won’t come all the way off until the screw holding the flash synch. socket is removed from behind the front cover and the middle of the socket is pushed through

(see photos 7-9)

--------------------------
Continued in Part 3
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10-17-2015, 10:21 PM - 2 Likes   #3
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K-5IIs Lens Mount Repair - Part 3

Repair Procedure (continued from part 2)

(see photos 1-2)


· Remove the screw holding the focus selection switch to the mirror box and shorten it approx. 1 mm (.040”). I used a pair of long nose ‘vise grips’ or locking pliers and a grinder.

(see photos 3-4) [Photo 4 shows the screw (out of focus) temporarily reinstalled without the switch]



· Use epoxy glue (Loctite brand in my case – NOT super glue) and glue the broken piece of mount ‘pad’, using the original screw to clamp it in place ensuring it is not twisted. Before the epoxy has fully hardened, remove the screw (so it can still be removed easily). Make sure both parts of the epoxy are well mixed.

· Using a pin vise or similar hand held drill chuck with a 1.6mm 1/16” drill bit, drill all the way through each of the 5 mount holes taking care to remove filings/chips etc. often so as to lessen the chance of debri inside the body when the drill breaks through the bottom of each hole. You should be able to feel when the drill bit breaks through, don’t get carried away and drill into other components hidden behind the mirror box flange (especially hole #1 – the bottom one).

(see photos 5)


· Use the same drill bit to drill a hole at the location of the broken mount spring locating pin to around 3mm (1/8”)

· Make a new pin from a 1.6mm (1/16”) nail around 4mm long and insert it in the hole making sure it does not protrude too far and thus foul on the mount ring when it is installed.




· Using a very small triangular file (or similar), file two lengthwise grooves on the end of a flash head screw (one each side) so the screw becomes a makeshift thread tap.

· Screw your tap into each of the 5 holes, tacking it out often to remove shavings etc. until you have cut a thread all the way through.

· Cut a piece of ¼” or 5/16” timber dowell say 3-4” long (75-100mm) and drill a 1.6mm (1/16”) hole lengthwise in one end.

· Screw a flash screw into the end and use the dowel as a handle to grind the head down to 0.6mm thickness [I used a 100mm (4”) angle grinder with a thin/fine cutting disc clamped to a bench]. Check your proceedings with a digital caliper. There should still be enough of a ‘+’ for a #0001 phillips head screw to work OK.

· Reduce the screw head diameter by turning the dowel as you gently touch the edge of the head to the grinder. Aiming for 3mm diameter or slightly less.

(see photo 6)


· Your screw should now fit into the recessed mount ring screw hole without the head protruding or sticking as the screw is turned. Four screws to go!

(see photo 7)


· Using side cutters/pliers, cut each screw 1mm or so longer than the lenghts I have given (in red pen on my notes) and using small ‘vise grips’ hold the head and grind the screw to length. Clean up the burrs with a fine file. NB: length measurements refer to the threaded portion and do not include the head thickness.

(see photo 8)


· Without screws, make sure your new Mount Ring (Pentax 77240-A104) fits properly onto the mirror box mount ‘pads’ and doesn’t ‘rock’ on any protrusions. I had to file the #1 (bottom) pad down as it was higher than the other 4 after gluing. I had to do this very carefully with a fine, very flat file using steel toolmakers parallels sitting on the other ‘pads’ so as to gauge how much to take off, but not too much.

(see photo 9)


----------------
Continued in Part 4
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10-17-2015, 10:22 PM - 3 Likes   #4
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K-5IIs Lens Mount Repair - Part 4

Assembly

· Bare the end of the black wire that comes out near the #3 hole and solder it to the new Mount Spring (Pentax 27230-A105). As it is steel, be sure to use acid core solder NOT resin cored as you will not be able to solder.

· Screw the focus mode selection switch back on using the shortened screw.

· Using a cotton bud, apply a film of thin oil (household or sewing machine oil) to the body mount ring where it may come into contact with epoxy. The same goes for the threads of any screws (unless you want them stuck in permanently!).

· Position the Mount Spring and then the Mount Ring on the mirror box. For the holes that were damaged significantly and were not very deep (ie. there wasn’t much thread engagement even after drilling and tapping) – in this case hole numbers 2 & 5, I used a small amount of epoxy as a ‘filler’. I used a very fine flat blade screwdriver to place the epoxy into the holes. Then screw the appropriate length screws into their holes.

· After an appropriate time to allow the epoxy to set, remove the screws and gently rmove the Mount Ring to check the repair

(see photo. This shot shows #5 hole repaired with the new Mount Spring pin/locator above it.)





On reassembly and with some test shots, the repaired K-5IIs focusses and performs fine.

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10-17-2015, 10:42 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by DaveR Quote
Assembly

· Bare the end of the black wire that comes out near the #3 hole and solder it to the new Mount Spring (Pentax 27230-A105). As it is steel, be sure to use acid core solder NOT resin cored as you will not be able to solder.

· Screw the focus mode selection switch back on using the shortened screw.

· Using a cotton bud, apply a film of thin oil (household or sewing machine oil) to the body mount ring where it may come into contact with epoxy. The same goes for the threads of any screws (unless you want them stuck in permanently!).

· Position the Mount Spring and then the Mount Ring on the mirror box. For the holes that were damaged significantly and were not very deep (ie. there wasn’t much thread engagement even after drilling and tapping) – in this case hole numbers 2 & 5, I used a small amount of epoxy as a ‘filler’. I used a very fine flat blade screwdriver to place the epoxy into the holes. Then screw the appropriate length screws into their holes.

· After an appropriate time to allow the epoxy to set, remove the screws and gently rmove the Mount Ring to check the repair

(see photo. This shot shows #5 hole repaired with the new Mount Spring pin/locator above it.)





On reassembly and with some test shots, the repaired K-5IIs focusses and performs fine.
That was an incredible performance!
10-18-2015, 01:02 AM - 1 Like   #6
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Yes you are a very brave man to try this,but you had nothing to loose
If it didn't work
Neil
10-18-2015, 01:37 AM   #7
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Congrats Great work!

10-18-2015, 02:43 AM   #8
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That thing looks like a beast with the cover off, reminds me of The Terminator after a truck accident.

Reading with interest.
10-18-2015, 05:59 AM   #9
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Well done my son, very impressive...! Thanks for the interesting time reading you.
10-18-2015, 06:14 AM   #10
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Nothing short of amazing!! My hat is off to you sir.
10-18-2015, 08:46 AM   #11
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Outstanding .... and what a steady hand you must have!!
10-18-2015, 01:20 PM   #12
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Awesome job! This is an amazing series series of posts. I would love to see them combined into a single article and posted somewhere on the PF home page. Maybe this could be a sticky in the Troubleshooting section?

Thanks for showing us all of this!

Side note : I am surprised by the amount of empty, unused space inside the camera.
10-18-2015, 11:29 PM - 1 Like   #13
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Well done.

I'm wondering, for those of us who may be in similar situations in the future, whether 3D printing replacement parts may be an option too.
10-19-2015, 01:38 AM   #14
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Great job! Congratulations!

And very nice pictures :-) I like to see the inside of objects!

And having the service manual is great! Is it only for the K5ii? Or for all cameras?
10-19-2015, 10:41 AM   #15
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My respect !
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