Oh boo hoo!
I have a Pfaff 1222 freearm machine that I bought when my boys were babies -- probably in 1974. It has followed me through the years of stretch-n-sew, a lifetime if hemming things for my 5'2" self, and many years of clothes and table linen creations and on to the last about 14 years when I have also quilted.
After I retired in 2010 I discovered that the lever that tacks and reverses the buttonhole function seemed to be jammed, and also that it didn't revert to completely straight stitching after doing zig-jag. My local sewing machine repair shop finally said it (buttonholer) cannot be fixed as it's buried under the mechanisms. (Of course I just had to buttonhole then, and I make them "freehand".)
This Christmas Eve we arrived at our out-of-town destination a bit early, and saw a sewing machine shop that was open. The two gentlemen in there had worked on Pfaff for years, and told me what was really going on (I now think my local shop hadn't a clue). It amounts to a rod in a shaft sort of thing that is central to the whole whatzit, and which are working their way apart, and it cannot, indeed, be saved. They said the parts were coming apart even if I didn't realize it yet.
So after reading this very wordy post I thank you for participating in what feels almost like the loss of a friend. I do think I will buy another [plastic??!] Pfaff, a simple one that runs about $500. At least I will still have my integrated walking foot, even tho all the other specialty feet cost about $33 each. I meant this to be my last Pfaff (in 1974), but am not quitting sewing just yet... Thanks for listening.