Easy fix? Pentax MZ-3 mirror gear

Hi all

A fault developed with my Mz-3 which various enquiries concluded was a plastic cog breaking in the mechanism for lifting the mirror - said mirror stays down when firing the shutter, although I can hear some motor whirring somewhere in the body. This is apparently a reasonably common fault.

I posted on here about it but for some reason can't find my original post - with my typing skills the term search is unlikely to work! - hence this follow-up.

My question is, is this a repair I could attempt myself, or would it be more sensible whilst still economical to ship it out to a repair shop? I have an MX, a Z1-P and a P30t so I'm not short of cameras, but it's a waste not to fix it. I may even sell it on, however if the reapir is more costly than the camera I may have to sell it as a non-working body.

All advice, and recommendations for repair shops, most welcome.

I've been inside various older manual bodies, my advice for what it's worth would be to get a quote, then decide.

The electrics themselves are a nightmare, as for the shutter/mirror set up...

Thanks for comments.

Yep, if it was any other part of the cmaera than mirror or shutter I'd have a stab myself. I'll take it along to my local shop to see what they say, I suspect it may cost more than it's worth.

mattie, if you are interested in an MZ-3 that is is indistinguishable-from-new condition, then drop me a PM.

mattie - if you don't do a deal with John - I'd recommend getting a quote from the likes of Harrow or any other Pentax specialist repairers. The MZ3 isn't a common body and it's still worth a few quid - not in the league of the MZS true but of the other MZ versions, it probably fetches the most on Fleabay (Womble may be able to back me up)


Steve

I can back you up in the sense that I do not have any MZ-3s in my database! It is, however, the highest spec MZ short of the MZ-S. I would heartily recommend Harrow Technical who have done sterling work in my ME-F and LX and will shortly be getting an ME Super and an MX to service. Your local camera shop will probably just say they cannot get the parts which is what happened to me.

How much are you thinking of selling for John :

Cheers John, most kind, however I was simply bothered by it not being put to it's intended purpose - it looks quite sad stuck on the shelf!

Cheers Steve and Womble, I'll give them a bell as and when I get time. The local shops were, as you anticipated, not that keen to get involved.