Is it the part in the second picture of post #12 of this link?

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I'm not sure that's what she meant, but that's part of what I've cleaned and oiled so many times. Mine is still not as clean as the one in the photo, though. It has this tan film on everything when I got it. It still covers the inside to some extent. It's in pretty good cosmetic condition on the exterior, though. The red lever didn't like one of the cleaners I used (don't remember which one), so it will have to be repainted.

Hopefully, I can get that contract done and in the mail today. Also, I won a 15-91 in an auction that I have to pick up today. Maybe I can get to the machine and set it up to sew this afternoon.

Thanks for all the help and encouragement.

bkay

I've had the tan film too, large parts of the machine at least, it's oil mess not cleaned up. Decades later it darkens. Metal bars and parts usually shine up with a type of metal polish, but it's cumbersome getting it done inside the machine. Any grit left behind needs to come off too. It's a must to shine up the neeedle- and presserbar though , makes the machine look so much cleaner :- )

I have noticed my machines gradually look cleaner inside, but it takes a couple of years. It's the repeated cleaning and oiling, the odd wiping off now and then. Sometimes I'm a bit more thorough than others. This is a nice blog post related to the 401. She will talk you through a lot of the tricky parts in this video; and she is very good with these machines.

Yes, the second pic is exactly what I meant. That is a common sticking point in these machines. If, in the past, someone used WD40 or 3in1 oil on it, it can take several cleanings to get all the dried crud out of it and have it work properly.

Cari

Done!!!!! It's working perfectly. All that cleaning and oiling finally worked. Now, I want to keep it. It's a lot quieter than my 503, so I might sell that one. (I can't keep them all.)

bkay

Bkay, have you done the drop of motor oil into the upper motor bearing on your 503? I guarantee this works to quiet down the slant motors.

Cari

More cleaning and oiling for bkay lol ;- ) It works though, and I'm sure it makes your 503 more wanted by a new owner. The swing arm slant shanks are so similar in build they should in theory stitch with much the same sound.

I had a lot of help from many here on the QB and got mine up and running. I know I had trouble with that paddle/plunger thingy. It finally worked itself loose.

https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...e-t216956.html

I'm not sure where my trouble was. I just kept redoing everything between the needle and the cam stack. I had cleaned everything again and the needle bar was behaving correctly. I left it to dry and came back and oiled it again. I did not check the cams stack, though, because it had been loose and working correctly. I put the whole thing back together and started sewing. It worked fine until I started turning knobs. The "push" knob wouldn't turn. So, I took the top off and oiled those again and it worked correctly. It produces all of the patterns now. They don't look exactly right, (too long), so I am now going to read the operator's manual.

I learned something else yesterday. The 601 is pretty much the same machine as the 401. I bought one a few months ago at an estate sale without knowing there was a difference between the 601 auto-reel and the 601 touch and sew. This one is an auto-reel, with a touch and sew label pasted on it. Apparently, the auto-reel is a real mess. It will be my next project. It may end up a parts machine, though.

Thanks again for all your help.

bkay

I've had the same bkay, I once had a 99 with a stuck stitch length mechanism, I could turn the adjustment screw in and out but nothing happened. It was a bit like your case, oiling every part over and over not really being abe to identify where the trouble lie. Left over night it was all freed up. As you well know, a 99 is much simpler than a 401 but still with enough links, knobs and hinges to make it difficult.

You are very lucky with access to nice and intersting models; 503, 601,... I was promised a nice and early 99 last week, but someone else ended up with it. Not a lot of machines turning up at the moment :- )