Hi - I have the floppy drive from a Mac Plus partially disassembled for a clean & lube. Shortly after removing the head mechanism, I noticed a small, rubber piece that wasn't attached to anything and not certain where it came from or belongs. I've got a pic of that I took of my process and hadn't noticed the piece until later but it's circled in the upper, left of the pic. Again, it was just sitting there and not attached to anything. The second pic is a closeup of the piece. It's about 3/32" long and and 1/8" in diameter. It's soft rubber and cupped as if it was over the end of a round piece. I've watched several youtube vids and haven't seen or seen mention of this piece. It's the right size to go over the end of the rod that the head mechanism slides on but, again, I don't see it in any vids or mention of it. Thoughts? Thanks!
Mac Plus floppy drive part
- Thread starter tomcrete
- Start date
Strange, I recently repaired a similar drive and I didn't find any pieces like that at all.
Maybe you possibly have a weird or uncommon revision?
Maybe you possibly have a weird or uncommon revision?
it occurred to me that it may not be a part off of the drive. i don't know what it might be if from somewhere else in the guts of the Plus but it's possible that it's simply a foreign object that found it's way in thru the floppy bay opening. who knows where thus Plus has been.
I'm pretty confident that the cap you found goes on at the end if the metal pole which guides the head up and down. It goes on the end of the pole which will face the front of the Mac. Your picture is missing that metal pole for some reason.
Most drives actually don't have this cap, I've only seen it once or twice. Below is a picture indicating exactly where it goes on.
Most drives actually don't have this cap, I've only seen it once or twice. Below is a picture indicating exactly where it goes on.
Last edited:
This may also be somewhat pertinent after the drive is assembled again.
Might need to adjust the zero track sensor as well, as described in the above thread.
Might need to adjust the zero track sensor as well, as described in the above thread.
Would I really have need to deal with the ZTS if I've not messed with that adjustment? I removed the R/W stepper motor for cleaning via the 2 screws holding the unit to the base. I removed the R/W head assembly for cleaning via the 2 screws holding the slider rod in place (which is likely when the black, rubber piece dropped off). I have _NOT_ messed with the adjustment on the Zero Track Sensor or the screw holding it in place. After looking at the referenced thread and the pdf mentioned in the thread, it looks like I don't want to mess with the ZTS adjustment at this point.
You’re actually fine. Af first glance I thought you removed the adjustment screw when removing the head, but you didn’t actually touch it. You’re all good to go.
Can you confirm if the cap fits on the metal pole?
I put the cap on that pole and it fits like it was made for it. Thanks for confirmation regarding the head adjustment. I'll be lubing & reassembling now.
I got the drive back together and back in the Plus but I've got exactly the same issue as I had prior to the clean & lub. At least I don't seem to have broken anything in the process. I started a new thread as it's unrelated to this thread. Essentially, the floppy drive doesn't read or eject. More details and a vid with sound at https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/mac-plus-floppy-drive-not-happy.1279/
Yes, you may have to. All three of my Macs needed to have the adjustment taken care of, even though the sensor was never moved by someone prior to my servicing the drives. The eject problem, might be a board issue - I do have one drive in an A9M0106 external case that will not operate an eject motor assembly at all.