Originally Posted by
J Miller
It's called the vertical shaft top gear. They are the normal ones to break on this model of machine. They are not too hard to replace but you do have to retime the needle to hook.
The gears can be had here: {
http://www.sewingpartsonline.com/sin...ine-parts.aspx }.
Joe
Joe is right: This gear is broken on nearly all of these machines. I had to replace one a couple of years back on daughter's 498 stylist. It's a bit of work, and the gears usually cost more than the machine did (the 498 was $7.50) but afterwards you'll have a pretty decent machine and the gears are unlikely to need replacement for another 40 or more years.
The hook timing is easy enough: Good experience and you can even watch someone do it on youtube.