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Rusted up Apple II 5.25" floppy drive

Submitted by iamdigitalman on September 20, 2007 - 6:10pm. Apple II

In anticipation of my Apple //e Platinum aquisition (yes, I am FINALLY getting one, so excited), I started gathering up all the Apple II related stuff I have collected over the years. I found a external modem I *Think* can be used, 2400 baud RS232, a 9 pin male to male apple branded serial cable (old apple font, modern tektura or whatever it's called embossed in to both ends), my old mouse from my Plus (plan on swapping it back with the one from a IIc I got at a computer sale, since it's platinum as well), and a few other things.

I managed to find my old 5.25" floppy drive I was given by my biology teacher. this one was a spare, and we hooked it up to one of his IIes before I took it, and it worked 3 years ago, loaded a disk and everything. I remember I noticed the screws were incredibly rusted, so I took them out, threw them away, and took the bottom cover/front face off with the LED. I noticed a patch of rust on one side of the internal metal frame, and would really like to clean this up. However, there is one screw on the back that will not come off. It is rusted out, and stripped. The rust is so bad I can barely tell where the points of the head are. Is there any way to get this screw out without damaging the plastic casing?

Also, once I get this off, what is the best way to clean up the rust on the internal frame? I don't plan on getting rid of it all, just the really bad crystals part. I was thinking sandpaper, or would this damage the metal more?

Also, how do I get this thing back together? is there a service manual? I searched, but could not find anything. It's been 3 years since I dismantled it, so I don't remember how I did it.

Just for reference, the bottom label says "Apple 5.25 drive", and the model number is A9M0107.

thanks, and be gentile, it's my first time in Apple II waters as an owner. I've used them before, just never owned one.

-digital Eye-wink

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Apple 5.25 Floppy Drive

Submitted by magnusfalkirk on September 20, 2007 - 11:54pm.

Here's a link to a site that has a PDF of the Owner's Guide for the Apple 5.25 Disk Drive.

http://www.1000bit.net/support/manuali/manuali.asp

Just scroll down the page to the Apple IIGS section.

Dean

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iamdigitalman's picture

thanks for the link. I jus

Submitted by iamdigitalman on September 21, 2007 - 12:19am.

thanks for the link.

I just got the screw out, but I don't think that area will ever hold another screw again. I took a dremel and bored it out, but that kind of wrecked the hole in the plastic. it *might* still work, because it appears the threads are on the metal frame work. The rust damage is worse than I thought. It's all along the back of the metal frame, surrounding the auxillery floppy port, no idea if that will work, one thing I forgot to test. I plan on removing the interior metal casing and cleaning that up, and lubricating the parts with sewing machine oil, and replacing the rusted screws.

Just goes to show you the Apple IIs could take some abuse. Looks like this drive was used in a moist environment for some time.

-digital Eye-wink

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Hi, Well if you can wait a

Submitted by Twilight_Rodent on September 21, 2007 - 2:13pm.

Hi,
Well if you can wait a few weeks, I have a couple of working drives.

Will send you an Email.

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iamdigitalman's picture

alright, well, using the sand

Submitted by iamdigitalman on September 21, 2007 - 2:28pm.

alright, well, using the sanding bit of my dremel, I was able to get rid of most of the rust. I plan on working on more of it today.

and no, I don't need another drive. I plan on restoring the on I have, mainly for fun.

-digital Eye-wink

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woogie's picture

"Rust-o-ration"

Submitted by woogie on November 26, 2007 - 3:04am.

Be VERY CAREFUL when using your sander/abrasive
wheel around the drive mechanism! These critters
HATE dust and debris! I would use some compressed
air to blow everything out after finishing the
metalwork. As for oiling the drive mechanism, I
would hesitate to do that as the pivot points are
ususally designed to work without lubrication. If
you MUST lubricate, use a straight pin and apply
ONLY what oil will be held on the TIP of the pin.
I know that is not much, but it shouldn't take too
much. Any extra will only attract dust and eventually
gum up.

After you finish your 'overhaul',it would be adviseable
to run the disk drive a while with an old disk in it
so if any contaminants are still there you will not
destroy a good boot, program or data disk. After running
it for awhile, shut it down, blow it down again thoroughly
with compressed air and then attempt to run a boot disk
in it to see if everything is OK. You may have to adjust
the disk speed or alignment. You will need a utility
program disk to do this. Copy Plus has some programs to
adjust the disk drives.

I've done a couple of "rust-o-rations" and they were
successful. Just take care and use PATIENCE. The old
Apple hardware is pretty durable and sturdy.

Have fun and keep us posted as to how this comes out.

Oh yeah! You want to use a GOOD instrument oil for your
lubrication such as La Belle plastic-compatible oils.
These come with a needle applicator and are available
in hobby shops or on line. Google "La Belle Oils and
Lubricants".

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