Heads up about a weird film advance issue on old Minoltas

I fixed a Minolta XG-M last week that had a stiff film advance. The owner said it got worse over about three months. I opened it up and the old grease in the gear train had turned into a thick, sticky paste. It was like glue. I cleaned it all out with lighter fluid and put in fresh grease. The lever action went from feeling like pushing through mud to smooth as new. Has anyone else seen this specific gunk-up happen so fast on these models?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin_smith301mo ago

Read a repair blog that called this "grease migration". The old lubricant basically breaks down and crawls into the wrong places. Heat and age make it turn into that nasty glue you found.

lee3301mo ago

That old grease must have had a midlife crisis and decided to become adhesive. It went from smooth operator to industrial glue in record time. Maybe it got jealous of the shutter and wanted a more important job. Classic case of gear train ambition gone wrong.