[ravenorxs]

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Hi all,

I recently purchased an aesthetically mint Asahi Pentax S3 from eBay.

The 1st roll I put through had absolutely zero problems.

Halfway through the 2nd roll my mirror would get stuck in the "raised" position at 1/30 and 1/60 speeds.

I would have to shoot another exposure to bring the mirror back down.

However after that roll, I tried to test the shutter at various speeds without film and now the mirror is permanently in the up position (with a blacked out viewfinder).

I found another post by a user on this forum recommending removing the 4 screws on the bottom plate and lubricating various gear components with oil.

Anybody have any idea what sort of Oil I should use that I could get from a local store?

I've heard Nyoil tossed around but I live in Vancouver, Canada and the price on amazon Canada ranges from $50 to $90 per 4oz 0.oo

If there is anything more mainstream that I could find in a local store that would be similarly effective I would be willing to try it

[JohnX]

Sure the mirror isn't stuck in the up position because it's sticking to the foam that absorbs the mirror impact? The foam gets sticky over time as it degrades. Which isn't to say that your lubrication suggestion is wrong of course.

[ravenorxs]

Fair Point John.

Unfortunately right now I can't even unmount my lens to check because this lens has a little metal pin sticking out at the back. I feel it impacting something when i try to untwist (most likely the raised mirror?)

The oil/lubrication method seems relatively easy to try (as long as I can find the right oil)

[Ranchu]

The yellow one..moebius oil | eBay

[ravenorxs]

Eureka!

I used some Hoppe's Lubricating Oil (Gun Oil) from Canadian tire and used a pinhead to apply miniscule dabs around the suggested gear areas and so far no issues.

Will continue testing for a day with no film but it seems to work okay right now

Thank you all

[Digitalis]

Lube the bearing surface only and don't douse everything, since it can migrate to other parts of the camera.

Like the sensor cover glass. Nikon learned that the hard way.

[JohnX]

😁 Good result.

[cameracravings]

Liberty synthetic oil works well for my Spotmatic.