Rock-Ola 451 - several issues and help very much required!

[ben]

Hi

I bought a 451 model about 30 years ago and all worked well. Sometime after moving out from my parents’ house it was put in their garage and forgotten about. I had always presumed it was just not wanted in the house but I’m now wondering if it was because it had stopped working at this point. Either way, 20 years later I’ve finally got the space to have it in my own home and I’m struggling to get it working properly. 

I should say I’m a novice at all this (so please be patient with me) but having searched the web tirelessly for the past week and obtaining a trouble shooting guide etc, my knowledge is now infinitely better. 

The immediate problem I have is the gripper arm seems to be locked / seized in place around the turntable. When I collected it, it had a record already on the turntable so I suspect it encountered an issue on its last use.

Having searched online and watched YouTube tutorials I can get to the stage (with micro switch 3 activated) where the record will play (albeit at a slower speed, possibly 33rpm) but if you reject it or move the tone arm to the end, the gripper arm refuses to budge and the record just remains in situ. The sticky on here doesn’t seem to help my issue either. 

I have attempted (as recommended online) to slowly, manually twist the motor knob to put it through a cycle but it gets to a stage where it won’t move any further. The gripper arm is firmly locked in place and nothing seems to shift it. 

I have checked all fuses, relays and breakers and have hit a brick wall. Having spent hours and hours on it I’m hoping someone can help and be patient with me

When I first collected it I noticed that the gripper arm was around the turntable in an opposite arc to every thing I had seen on line, and although I was able to lift and move it to face the other way, I now can’t put it back the way it was - if mine should be different for some reason 😬

If you select a song, the write in / read out wheels work fine as does the magazine, but the gripper arm just won’t move to collect or return a record. 

many thanks 

[Ron Rich]

Hi Ben,
From what you have written, it would be my GUESS, that; 1. You have done yourself more harm the good, by spinning that gripper arm over. 2. The original problem here, was dried grease, and the above "sticky", would have been "the answer". FYI--The record gripper shifts, (sides) over, to play opposite sides of the records-- I think you may need to hire help here--someone who has dis-assembled/re-assembled these, before. If you wish to proceed, I would suggest you look at our FAQs section, the "Hi Newbies" post first-- Ron Rich

[ben]

Hey mate

Thanks for your reply, it’s much appreciated. Annoyingly, I could get the gripper to flip back and forth with no trouble, but it would seem that the subsequent manual movement of the motor now means that the slight adjustment to the cogs / mechanism doesn’t allow the gripper to clear the catch to lift it up again. Prior to doing this, I did try all other suggestions and it just wouldn’t manoeuvre to rise and twist towards the basket / records.

The cogs towards the back of the mechanism, which seems to have a pin in place preventing its upwards movement, seem locked - and no amount of re greasing etc has assisted.

[Ron Rich]

Ben--re-greasing won't help ! You need a GOOD "penetrating oil", and like the sticky says, lots of time (and/or patience) (heat is suggested by some- but I'm hesitant to recommend it ). Ron Rich

[5summie10]

Ben--I'm new here also and was experiencing almost the same problems as you. The gripper arm on my Rockola 454 would not move and would cause one of the breakers to trip. I took the advice I got here, purchased some 20 wt 3 in 1 oil and penetrating oil and just kept working it into the gripper assembly. After that I used my heat gun and heated the assembly for 3 or 4 minutes. Then I worked manual knob on the gripper motor. I did this process a couple of times and all of sudden everything broke free and I was able to manually move the gripper back into its home position which allowed most of the other mechanicals to operate. Mike