Takahashi FSQ85EDX focuser "gritty" feel

[jwoody]

Hello everyone
The focuser on my Tak has a horrible "gritty" feel when turning. I have cleaned and applied white lithium grease to the bearings but to no avail. The whole assembly just feels really tight.
Anyone had any experience of this and a possible fix?
Thanks
Jeremy

[LewisM]

Take off the pinion plate, remove pinion, check, regrease. Check adjustment to dual speed unit.

Easier to show than describe how to fix it.

[jwoody]

Thanks Lewis. Thing is I just can't find any way to adjust...anything!
Note that my focuser is the standard and not the MEF3 or 4.

The only think I could find is at the non dual speed end (photo 2). You can see from the photo that I have tried to turn this "nut" but it wont budge (perhaps it is not a nut and is not meant to).

It also seems to me that the bearings just don't want to take up any of the grease because it all feels to tight.

[jwoody]

Ok, so the "nut" does budge. I unscrewed it and with some persuasion the bearing came out. but the dual speed end is still assembled (photo 3 above). Can't see how that comes apart for the life of me. I don't wont to push and pull too much for fear of damaging it.
Any tips please?
Thanks
Jeremy

[jwoody]

Ok. Turns out that the steel pin that controls the micro focus adjustment is buggered. Perhaps some grit or something got in there and damaged where the pin turns the ball bearings which in turn rotate the focuser.
There is a small groove where the ball bearing sits in, and that groove wasn't smooth anymore and that was giving me the "gritty" feeling. I smoothed it out with a round file, a little at a time, but in the end it the groove is to big so the ball bearings don't have a tight grip on the outer casing so it wont turn the assembly.
The non micro focus now works fine and is very smooth but a want the micro focus to work.
So there is now an ad in the wanted section if anyone can help.
Thank you
Jeremy

[LewisM]

Buy a new MEF4 and drop it in:

http://www.astronomy-electronics-centre.com.au/prices_tak.htm#mef

TKA00734 Micro edge focuser MEF-4 (1:7)
usable with FSQ-106 / FS-128 / FS-152 / TOA-130F / TOA-150 $257

Same as what is standard in the FSQ85