[filmmaster]

What is teh correct method to inspect the bumpers and seals on the MX?

Bought one from that place in arizona that sells them as "fully cleaned, inspected, resealed, and fixed.."

Mine somehow skipped that process.

The door has some genuine goo that used to be foam on it,, cant tell the state of the mirror seals at all.

[nickthetasmaniac]

Do you mean the mirror bumper? It should be clearly visible at the top of the mirror box.

[filmmaster]

There is 3 strips of foam inside the mirror compartment, i am not sure if it is good or not.

The foam for the DOOR seals is shot,, i took a few photos of it but i cant get my cell phone to connect to my pc for some reason.

Its like crusted up glue..

Question, does the top and bottom pieces of the camera have to come off in order to replace the door seals?

[stevebrot]

Both mirror and light seal foams are easily tested with a splinter of wooden toothpick or similar wooden splint. When touched, the foam should not crumble, compress overly, or show signs of stickiness. It should spring back slightly when pressed.


Steve

[stevebrot]

Question, does the top and bottom pieces of the camera have to come off in order to replace the door seals?

On most cameras everything should be accessible with the camera fully assembled and the film door attached. There are exceptions of course, but not in Pentaxland.


Steve

[Not a Number]

If at least one seal was not replaced you need to take the issue up with the seller if advertised as "resealed". Either return the camera for replacement with one in the condition as advertised, have the seals replaced or a partial refund for the cost of a DIY seal replacement kit.

If the seal part of the advertised refurbishment was overlooked how can you be sure any of the others were not as well?

[filmmaster]

on replacement, i have seen a few spots online that show the camera with the top and bottom plates removed,, needing the buttond snf and dials to be removed in order to replace the light seals..

on camera, the mirror compartment seals do seem to be ok, the big one on the front of the frame bounces back quick, i cant tell the side strips at all, i see them but i cant tell if they are good or bad by feel.

i cant get photos out of phone

[stevebrot]

on replacement, i have seen a few spots online that show the camera with the top and bottom plates removed,, needing the buttond snf and dials to be removed in order to replace the light seals..

Having replaced the seals on multiple cameras (two dozen?) and having paid to have it done (once), I can assure you that the seals and mirror bumpers on your MX are accessible without disassembly. There are no light seals under the top or bottom plates, at least not on the parts list in the service manuals I have on file.

That said, the one camera that I paid to have the seals replaced on was my Olympus XA. That one does require disassembly.

FWIW, it is my practice to always suggest Jon Goodman's excellent kits whenever the topic comes up. The kits are complete (light seals and mirror bumpers), specific to your camera, and include detailed instructions with photos on each phase of the job. With his kits, I can generally do the job in less than an hour, including the time to clean out the old materials.

Jon quit selling on eBay several years ago and now runs the business using e-mail. Send him a message telling him what camera and he will respond with instructions to purchase. I last bought from him a year ago at a price of $11 USD per kit including postage.

jon_goodman@yahoo.com

Steve

[filmmaster]

thanks for the help guys, you guys have been the best photo forum to deal with.

Its just that i have just seen the goopy crust on the door itself, the two long strips, the groove inside the frame where the film counter tab on the door slides into the mechanism has crusty in it.

uscamera ? shows 5 seperate seals that need to be replaced,,,

I tried doing the seals on a canon Ftb couple years ago, and i couldnt do it with my hand injuries so it cost me a pretty penny to have done with a professional CLA.

[filmmaster]

If at least one seal was not replaced you need to take the issue up with the seller if advertised as "resealed". Either return the camera for replacement with one in the condition as advertised, have the seals replaced or a partial refund for the cost of a DIY seal replacement kit.

If the seal part of the advertised refurbishment was overlooked how can you be sure any of the others were not as well?

well alot of other things were NOT done as per the sales advertisement.

I did a test roll, sadly the camera door seals failed,, and the shutter mechanism went to crap on me. half the strip was never exposed to the lens.

what would a service job cost for an MX

[filmmaster]

Actual got a reply from Advanced Camera in Portland, great folks there.

140 MINIMUM plus parts for the shutter mechnanism and 30 for the light seals. Not exactly big or bad, but on a 239 expenditure, its beyond interest when those things were supposed to ahve been fixed before shipping to me.

Now the seller wants me to give shutter speed and aperture and etc for each photo i took with it, and even wants to know who developed the film roll, and has done everything but demand i send the negative AND prints to them once i requested a refund or exchange for camera that was serviced to their advertisement description.