Fairly new to the Saitek X52 (pro) sticks

[OleBoy]

Overall, I'm very happy I made the purchase. But here recently the joystick is feeling sticky when changing deflection of axis while banking, aileron rolls and changes in elevation.
....Upon looking at the shaft going from the handle to the base where the dual springs meet the conical portion there's a plastic piece for the inner spring to rest on that retains pressure. It appears that this plastic piece is causing friction on the shaft which makes movements anything but smooth.

....I took the base out to the shop and blew it out with pressurized air. Then I looked a little closer. It looks to be fine. So I put a few drops of Break Free CLP in there to see if it would help smooth things. I figured for sure that stuff would do the trick. But it didn't. Why Saitek used plastic as a bushing retainer is beyond me as galling was bound to happen. So now I have the dilemma of trying to fix this and get the movement smooth again. There has to be a simple solution.

[OleBoy]

After putting on my scrubs and deciding to play doctor, I rounded up the needed allen wrench and small phillips screwdrivers and tore it apart. Once I got to the point of dis-assembly for a good look at the springs, shaft and plastic bushing attached to the aluminum cone at the base, I saw that there were three tiny phillips head screws attaching the plastic bushing to the cone. Once I removed those I placed a few paper towels down, laid the base on it's side and gave it a good spraying with electrical contact cleaner. Waited a few minutes, and then wiped it all down to remove the grease and oil.
.....I re-attached the bushing to the aluminum cone while not over tightening, and testing the slide movement for binding on the shaft. I continued tightening each of the three screws progressively, and checking for binding each time up to the point where all three screws were tight. When I got to where all the screws were tight, that's when it was binding on the shaft. I then backed off each screw individually 1/2 turn and checked for binding. Two of the screws I could snug tight to the plastic bushing without any affect. But the third one was compressing the flange of the bushing just enough that when tightened, expanded the plastic and applied side pressure to the shaft of the stick.
....Once I realized what was happening, the solution was to remove a very small amount of the plastic flange on the inside of the bushing. I got out my xacto knife and carefully shaved the area back a few thousandths of an inch, then re-assembled and checked for any binding. AH HA!!!....problem solved!!

EDIT: I greased the bushing and the shaft with Oster Electric Clipper Grease before I re-assembled. It now works smoother better than new

Reversing the tear-down steps I re-assembled the stick while checking for any binding along the way by moving the stick in every axis. Everything was good to go and the problem was solved.

Below are a couple pictures that point out the area causing the trouble.

Note: After tearing the stick down I see fault in design that could be easily remedied. The aluminum cone is painted. Causing friction where it meets the opening of the base while in axis.
Solution: Lose the paint and polish the conical portion while leaving it in it's natural aluminum material.

You'll have to view the pictures by clicking the links due to the size.
The arrows point to the tiny screws.

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6585/p1010669s.jpg
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/5815/p1010666f.jpg

[Paul K]

I'm having exactly the same problem with my new X52 Pro, so this is very timely. My intention is to try rubbing a little candlewax in there and see how it goes. If no joy, I will follow your procedure Oleboy. Thanks very much.

[Roadburner440]

Sorry I didn't see this thread sooner as I would have saved you some time.. Also be aware that the wire bundle in the throttle (in mine at least) was chaffing when I moved my throttle. Over time it rubbed through the insulation on the wire for the mouse control stick on the throttle, and it would cause my mouse arrow to do all kinds of erratic junk whenever it was hooked up to the computer. Eventually I figured this out, and repaired the wire/re-routed the wire bundle so it no longer chaffed and it has never happened since. That also made the throttle response smoother as well. Just be aware that if you start seeing your mouse curser drift to the side that this is what is going on. It happened real early on too, but in the last 8 or 900 hours I have put on it hasn't happened again.

[Paul K]

Roadburner, do you have a different solution to the stick problem above ?

Thanks for the tip on the throttle wiring.

[OleBoy]

SEE MY POST ABOVE. I FORGOT A NEEDED BIT OF INFO



I'm having exactly the same problem with my new X52 Pro, so this is very timely. My intention is to try rubbing a little candlewax in there and see how it goes. If no joy, I will follow your procedure Oleboy. Thanks very much.

I wouldn't recommend candle wax. Guaranteed that will only make it worse than it is now


I suggest at a minimum of spraying it with electrical contact cleaner and applying a very low viscosity grease that is safe for plastics (Just to be safe, Not cooking grease!!)

.....Place paper towels under the aluminum cone to catch all the excess cleaner that runs down the shaft. The last thing you need is for it to get inside the base and break down the greased pivot points or more.

...Once you get it sprayed down, clean up the shaft above, below and around the springs and the bushing. Once satisfied, set the stick in your lap and lay it on it's side and extend the axis forward. Apply a bead of grease where the aluminum cone meets the shaft, then turn the stick 180 degrees and add a dab more. Then another bead with the stick in centered position (on top) as close as you can get to the bushing. Once done, move the stick in all axis directions so it works all around the shaft. It may work. If not, see my post above.


...Main thing you have to pay close attention to is making sure the wires don't get pinched when you put it back together. ;)

:mixedsmi: By the way, you helicopter pilots try what I've done here, and I'll bet you'll be removing the sightly zip ties you have on them that reduces spring compression :mixedsmi:

[Paul K]

Thanks Oleboy, your instructions and caveats are noted. First thing to do is dismantle my stick and get more familiar with the cause of the problem.

[OleBoy]

Hi Paul

....Something that led me to think it was the bushing, was that I put my thumbs on the supports where your outer palm rests, then put my fingers under the aluminum cone and pulled it up. I could feel the stick-ness as the cone/bushing slid up the shaft. That's when I resorted to tearing into it.

My sticks symptoms were sticky-ness at the start of any movement. Once I deflected the axis in any direction, the smoothness I expect was not here. What was going on in my case was that the stick actually jumped to deflection. Anything from that point on was the same regardless. I tried cleaning out the small amount of crud (dust mainly) with a toothpick. I got a lot of it out and then added some low viscosity oil as I mentioned above. The oil was obviously everywhere. That didn't help. That's when I decided to tear it open.

[Roadburner440]

I do not have anything to add to what has been said. I could of just helped speed the conclusion he came to up. If you open up the throttle of your X-52 though (I have the original, not the Pro so it may be different). There is a white guide that is screwed in that holds the throttles in. It acts as a kind of bushing. Also that wire harness I was talking about that goes up into the throttles to send signals to/from the switches was taped down very tightly which was causing the wire bundle to chafe with the sharp plastic edges. Just be sure if you see any screws to check their tightness, but before putting the base back on that you check the throttles movement/feel so you can at least save some time. I have not found a way to get the actual throttle grip apart though without messing it up.

[Paul K]

I suggest at a minimum of spraying it with electrical contact cleaner and applying a very low viscosity grease that is safe for plastics (Just to be safe, Not cooking grease!!)



Just to tie this one up, what sort of grease did you use ? If you can give me the brand name, I can look up its specifications and see what the equivalent is here in the UK. Thanks for all the info so far, much appreciated.

[OleBoy]

I mentioned the grease above but, I used Oster brand electric clipper grease. The type that is used for electric shears/hair shavers.

http://www.google.com/search?q=oster+electric+clipper+grease&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[Paul K]

Thanks again Oleboy.

[OleBoy]

I hope it helps solve your trouble. :)

[Lotus]

Another temporary solution (if you don't have a dedicated and non-corrosive lubricant in the house) is to apply a very thin film of olive oil to the bottom of the metal disc and the plastic rim that it moves against with a paper towel. Weird I know, but it works well. :)

-Mike

[dougal]

I've just had to return my (almost new) X-52 to the retailer.

The whole unit is 'dead'. Just turned on PC after being away for 3 months and it refused to work. At all!

Not what i'd expect for that kind of outlay!

[Roadburner440]

Sorry to hear that Dougal. It really is a good controller and I hope you give it a second chance. Mine has survived 2 and half years of abuse, and 1,180 flight hours and still works like a charm. Other than the wiring issue I have never had problems with it, and that was easy enough to fix. I have read a lot about those Cougar HOTAS stick, and people having to modify the pots and such.