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Check Balls
Make sure the balls are shiny, with no pitting or rust. If the balls are imperfect, do not play the game until you get new balls. Damaged balls will damage your playfield.
Attach Legs
A pinball machine, like all fine machinery, needs protection from the elements. Moisture and humidity will damage the backglass, playfield, cabinet, and electrical components. Bright sunlight will fade the paint on the backglass, playfield, and cabinet. Extreme temperatures will damage the painted glass and plastic parts, and could damage electronic components in solid state games. Pick a location that avoids the above problems.
To protect electronic components, do not turn on a pinball machine if it is very cold. Let it warm up to room temperature first.
Reattach the legs. But before you even do that, check the feet. Each leg should have a screw-in foot (called a leg leveler) that is used to level the game. The feet are often rusted and won’t budge. Use WD-40 and lots of patience to free them. Do not force a rusted leg leveler. You could actually twist the leg itself out of shape trying to free the leveler. I’ve done it. Once you get the Leg leveler off, if it can’t be cleaned and if it is difficult to screw in, new levelers are inexpensive and available from the pinball parts businesses listed at the back of this book.
Leg Leveler
But leave at least 1/4 of the leveler visible above the screw hole. Otherwise, the leveler might bend or break. After you have the game leveled, tighten the nuts on the levelers. (Leg leveler lock nuts go underneath the flat part of the leg. Screw the nut onto the leveler before screwing the leveler onto the leg of the machine.)
When you reattach the legs, make sure
the legs are on tight. If the bolts will not tighten securely, put washers and nuts on the bolts inside the cabinet. Most leg bolts take standard 3/8? nuts. Wobbly legs make for a wobbly game.
Try not to drag the game around too much by the legs. The legs are made of steel, but they can bend. If you do have a bent leg, straighten it out in a vise or replace it.
Different machines and different manufacturers use different lengths of legs. If you need to get a replacement leg, know the machine’s name and manufacturer and the length of the leg before ordering a new one. Most pinball repair shops have an assortment of legs in the back room.
On most machines, all four legs are the same length. A few solid-state machines that had extra deep cabinets used different length legs on the front and back.
Level Playfield
The playfield must be level side to side. If the game is tilted to one side, even slightly, the ball will roll to that side and will affect the play dramatically.
Lay a long level across the cabinet at the back of the game next to the backbox, and at the front of the game. Some people take the playfield glass off and put a small level right on the playfield. The leg levelers can be adjusted up and down to level the game.
Most people set the back feet higher than the front feet, to get a good slant on the playfield and get the ball rolling fast. The instruction book that came with the machine will specify the slant that the manufacturer recommends, but you may prefer a steeper slant. I like a fast field, and I often add a couple pieces of two-by-four under the back legs to add more slant to the playfield and more speed to the game.
If you get too much of a slant, however, you may find that the flippers don’t have enough power to overcome the steep angle. If the ball can’t make it all the way up the playfield when hit by the flipper, consider lowering the back legs a little, Experiment, experiment. Once you get the slant you like, make sure the machine is still level side to side.
Changing the playfield slant will change the tilt. Check the tilt pendulum inside the machine. The pendulum should be centered in its metal ring. See the chapter “Tilt” if you don’t know how to adjust the pendulum.
Tips are courtesy of "Pinball Machine Care and Maintenance" by
Bernard Bear Kamoroff
This must have pinball repair book is available here, get your copy now!
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MORE TIPS -
Electric Cord:
Make sure that if your power cord has been replaced that it has a three prong plug. If it's not grounded, you could send a shock to your cpu and other boards as well as getting a nice little shock yourself.
Replacing the batteries:
Every two years you need to replace the batteries in your pinball machine. They are located behind the backglass. You can of course replace them every year on an easy to remember date, like the beginning of the year, so you don't forget. It is important to replace them before they leak. If they leak they can take out your cpu.
After replacing your batteries, with the machine unplugged, you will need to reprogram it. These instructions are in your manual, if you do not have your manual check our site. The reprogramming is just the settings for replays, coins per credit and stuff like that. This is done with the button(s) just inside your coin door.
Score Card covers:
If you are missing the clear cover for your score/instruction cards you can simply go to Office Max or Office Depot and get clear report covers and cut them to size. Simple, cheap and easy!
