Originally Posted by
Prism99
A bad jam can throw the timing out of whack. Seems to me this may be why the needle is hitting something metal -- bobbin and needle may no longer be synchronized.
Have you taken a flashlight to the bobbin area (with bobbin case removed)? Sometimes a tiny bit of thread gets caught in the mechanism. If you can't see anything, or see a bit that you can't remove with tweezers, you can try using sewing machine oil on the area to soften up the thread.
Prism99. you apparently hit the nail on the head.....I finally got hold of someone and after he lead me through many things (I had already done most of them) he told me than the time had been thrown off...so I have to travel to get it fixed. An expense I don't need but gotta fix it . Thanks for everyone's input.