Anyone ever replaced a joystick in an old arcade cabinet?

[rachel]

I am looking for recommendations on replacing a crappy joystick in my Mario Bros. wide-body cabinet. The P1 joystick is sunken in and hard to move, requiring a lot of muscle as compared to the P2 joystick. I'd like to have something that is or that looks original to the machine. Has anyone here done a joystick replacement before? Recommendations on where to buy or what to do/not to do? Thanks!

[pceslayer]

They are easy enough to remove... Usually a locking clip under the stick and 4 bolts at the base. Try happ controls http://na.suzohapp.com to see if they have a match to your stick.

[pceslayer]

http://www.mikesarcade.com/arcade/njoysticks.html

[scott]

Replacing joysticks is pretty simple. But, depending on how it's mounted to the panel, you're going to want to be careful that you don't screw up the CP overlay. Happ is a good place to buy some stuff, that's where I bought my coin door for my cab. But you could also try

Twisted Quarter

I also buy a lot of arcade parts from GroovyGameGear, and am planning on putting in an order there soonish for my cab.

I'm not sure what the stick on a Mario Bros joystick looks like. But it should be easy enough to find a replacement.

[rachel]

Cool, thanks!

After looking at the Mike's Arcade link, I'm starting to think that maybe I can just repair that stick rather than replace the whole thing. I've been a bit wary of opening my cabinet up. Maybe it's because once I start doing work on it, I'll find more and more things to fix (like the bottom coin door that doesn't have a key)!

[scott]

If you remove the stick and cant seem to figure out what the issue is. You can mail it to me, and I can look it over if you want.

[pceslayer]

Cool, thanks!

After looking at the Mike's Arcade link, I'm starting to think that maybe I can just repair that stick rather than replace the whole thing. I've been a bit wary of opening my cabinet up. Maybe it's because once I start doing work on it, I'll find more and more things to fix (like the bottom coin door that doesn't have a key)!

The hardest part about removing the stick is figuring out how to remove the control panel or get under it. Does it have a plexi overlaying the artwork of the cpl?

The bottom coin door with no key is easy fix too. After opening the top coin door you should be able to reach the hex screws that mount the whole coin collector to the cab. Some may be a bit out of site, but reachable. Use a small socket wrench or socket driver and loosen them and slide the coin collector out. The key lock should just be a barrel mount with a locking nut and can be replaced for like $2.

Good luck! Keep us posted on progress and pics if you got em!

[pceslayer]

Any progress?

[rachel]

Thanks! The CP doesn't have an acrylic overlay. (Maybe it ought to though... the original stickers are there but peeling up a bit.)

I found this awesome tutorial on opening cabinets. He also does a video on replacing coin door locks and replacing marquis lights. <3 <3 <3

Given my schedule, I probably won't be able to get around to fixing this until March, unfortunately. But I'm feeling pretty good about it now!