Cracked bottom plate on K20D

slawek · 07-23-2009, 07:09 AM

The camera fell from a chair onto a hardwood floor

. The bottom plate cracked. The camera still works OK.

From the looks of it, it seems that the bottom plate could be easily detached by unscrewing several tiny screws and then replaced with a new one.

Has anybody done it?

Pentax is pretty good about supplying parts (first hand experience). Not so sure about a service - for which I'd have to ship the camera away for a few weeks (and likely more $$$).

Any advice will be appreciated.

Quicksand · 07-23-2009, 02:39 PM

I have done it! Well, the breaking part at least.

I had a neck strap mishap a month or two ago, and my K20D also now has a broken plastic bottom plate, bent and cracked in one corner in particular. But like yours, all else seems fine, so I have been reluctant to send it off for repair until I have a few weeks to spare. (That will probably be in August.)

But I did detach that bottom plate to have a look around. Here's what I learned, which might be useful to you:

There are two different kinds of screws in the bottom plate. They are all tiny, but of two slightly different threads and lengths. When you take them out, make careful notes of where each one came from, so you can put them back in the correct locations.

In my case, and possibly yours too, the bottom plate turned out to be not the only broken piece. The screws in the bottom plate -- some of them anchor into metal, and some into other plastic pieces (that is what explains the different screw types). In any case, a screw-receiving pillar on another plastic piece in my camera also sheared off from the impact, and this particular plastic piece doesn't look easy to get to without disassembling a bunch of other components, which I will not do.

So off to service it will go. The broken screw-receiver and resultant loss of anchoring at a portion of the bottom plate might cause a slight loss of water resistance (there is a gasket around the whole bottom piece), so I don't want to leave it like this indefinitely. But there are plenty of other screws, so the change is probably minimal.

pdxbmw · 07-24-2009, 02:15 PM

I replaced the bottom plate of a K10D that had a hole in it from a short drop. Quite easy and very cheap to fix. For the K10D, the parts cost less than the shipping, shipping was $8. If you have any questions or need any help, let me know. Also, if you call Lynn in the Pentax parts department, she will email you a parts PDF so you can figure out the part numbers that you need to order. If it is like the K10D, you will need to order the weather sealing strips and the bottom plate. As long as you still have the battery cover and all the screws, you will be golden. Took me maybe 20 minutes tops.

slawek · 07-24-2009, 02:59 PM

So I've done it today. The part was CAD$ 8.50 + tax ($10 shipping if you can't pick-up). Replacement took about 5 min. The hardest part being switching battery door to the new bottom. The bottom plate came with the new seal. Piece of cake!
Quicksand - I didn't see any difference between the screws, but thay ARE tiny.
Thanks for your responses. I was going to do it anyways, but you've made my hands shake less :-)

BTW. service estimate was around $60-$70 + shipping

Russell-Evans · 07-25-2009, 12:45 AM

Originally posted by pdxbmw

Also, if you call Lynn in the Pentax parts department, she will email you a parts PDF so you can figure out the part numbers that you need to order.

Could you just post the PDF, please? You can attach the PDF so that you don't have to worry about hosting it somewhere.

Thank you
Russell

pdxbmw · 07-27-2009, 12:22 PM

Not sure how to attach a PDF. If someone wants to tell me how that would be cool. IT is also password protected.

jamesm007 · 07-27-2009, 07:58 PM

Originally posted by Russell-Evans

Could you just post the PDF, please? You can attach the PDF so that you don't have to worry about hosting it somewhere.

Thank you
Russell

The GX10 service manual is now back online for download go to this site

Downloads

and you will find the book and all the info you need and more to take off and put on that bottom plate.

07-23-2009, 07:09 AM	#1
slawek Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 188	Cracked bottom plate on K20D The camera fell from a chair onto a hardwood floor . The bottom plate cracked. The camera still works OK. From the looks of it, it seems that the bottom plate could be easily detached by unscrewing several tiny screws and then replaced with a new one. Has anybody done it? Pentax is pretty good about supplying parts (first hand experience). Not so sure about a service - for which I'd have to ship the camera away for a few weeks (and likely more $$$). Any advice will be appreciated.

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07-23-2009, 02:39 PM	#2
Quicksand Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Ohio (formerly SF Bay Area) Posts: 1,519	I have done it! Well, the breaking part at least. I had a neck strap mishap a month or two ago, and my K20D also now has a broken plastic bottom plate, bent and cracked in one corner in particular. But like yours, all else seems fine, so I have been reluctant to send it off for repair until I have a few weeks to spare. (That will probably be in August.) But I did detach that bottom plate to have a look around. Here's what I learned, which might be useful to you: There are two different kinds of screws in the bottom plate. They are all tiny, but of two slightly different threads and lengths. When you take them out, make careful notes of where each one came from, so you can put them back in the correct locations. In my case, and possibly yours too, the bottom plate turned out to be not the only broken piece. The screws in the bottom plate -- some of them anchor into metal, and some into other plastic pieces (that is what explains the different screw types). In any case, a screw-receiving pillar on another plastic piece in my camera also sheared off from the impact, and this particular plastic piece doesn't look easy to get to without disassembling a bunch of other components, which I will not do. So off to service it will go. The broken screw-receiver and resultant loss of anchoring at a portion of the bottom plate might cause a slight loss of water resistance (there is a gasket around the whole bottom piece), so I don't want to leave it like this indefinitely. But there are plenty of other screws, so the change is probably minimal.

07-24-2009, 02:15 PM	#3
pdxbmw Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 218	I replaced the bottom plate of a K10D that had a hole in it from a short drop. Quite easy and very cheap to fix. For the K10D, the parts cost less than the shipping, shipping was $8. If you have any questions or need any help, let me know. Also, if you call Lynn in the Pentax parts department, she will email you a parts PDF so you can figure out the part numbers that you need to order. If it is like the K10D, you will need to order the weather sealing strips and the bottom plate. As long as you still have the battery cover and all the screws, you will be golden. Took me maybe 20 minutes tops.

07-24-2009, 02:59 PM	#4
slawek Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 188 Original Poster	So I've done it today. The part was CAD$ 8.50 + tax ($10 shipping if you can't pick-up). Replacement took about 5 min. The hardest part being switching battery door to the new bottom. The bottom plate came with the new seal. Piece of cake! Quicksand - I didn't see any difference between the screws, but thay ARE tiny. Thanks for your responses. I was going to do it anyways, but you've made my hands shake less :-) BTW. service estimate was around $60-$70 + shipping

07-25-2009, 12:45 AM	#5
Russell-Evans Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,553	Originally posted by pdxbmw Also, if you call Lynn in the Pentax parts department, she will email you a parts PDF so you can figure out the part numbers that you need to order. Could you just post the PDF, please? You can attach the PDF so that you don't have to worry about hosting it somewhere. Thank you Russell

07-27-2009, 12:22 PM	#6
pdxbmw Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 218	Not sure how to attach a PDF. If someone wants to tell me how that would be cool. IT is also password protected.

07-27-2009, 07:58 PM	#7
jamesm007 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Detroit MI, USA Posts: 508	Originally posted by Russell-Evans Could you just post the PDF, please? You can attach the PDF so that you don't have to worry about hosting it somewhere. Thank you Russell The GX10 service manual is now back online for download go to this site Downloads and you will find the book and all the info you need and more to take off and put on that bottom plate.