Everything. The body, the really grungy insides. Then I made sure I wiped everything I'd touched down with a clean wet rag. All of this will come off / out with Oxi....
The really bad parts (like the tensioner that you don't see) I soaked in Oxi, fully disassembled, rinsed, then dried overnight and reassembled.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]369013[/ATTACH]

OK,.. here we go:
(Sorry about the awkward hand positions, I was going for clarity, not comfort.
And so so sorry to everyone on dial up. I don't know a better way to demonstrate this.)
To thread this machine:

Step 1: The book says with two hands, slip thread horizontally between tension discs from the top.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369022[/ATTACH]
Step 2: Book: With Right hand, lead thread under thread guide on right side...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369023[/ATTACH]
This is what it will look like when you've lead it under the guide.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369024[/ATTACH]
A further back shot of that right side threading. Note too on the left that the thread is on top of the spring.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369025[/ATTACH]
Step 3: Book: And with left hand, lead thread over spring and under guide on the left side.
It's hard to see, but a slightly toward the back of the machine motion will hook it under the guide.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369026[/ATTACH]
Step 4: Threading the rest of the machine (over the hills, through the woods, etc.)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369027[/ATTACH]
Step 5: Threading the last part of the upper thread.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369028[/ATTACH]

Completely threaded.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369029[/ATTACH]

Now, this is what the machine looks like in "sewing" mode:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369030[/ATTACH]

And in Bobbin winding mode:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]369031[/ATTACH]

If you look carefully, you might be able to see that pushing the lever to the left made that portion under the bobbin case rise up a little. That's important for bobbin winding mode.

To take it out of bobbin winding mode, close the slide plate.

I found a Singer 500 that looked a lot like that pic in window #29 - mine had oil in there - a big pool of oil and splashes everywhere when it ran. Then I just got one - opened up the balance wheel and that was FULL of oil. That machine sounds VERY odd. Makes you wonder what is going on. I'm wondering if that one is graphite or something used to lubricate those gears for some reason. And it could be graphite and grease mixed - who knows what goes on in people's heads. Maybe they thought it would go faster or quieter - how does it sound?

Oh now I see the rest of the pics - nine times out of ten when I find a Slant-O-Matic of any sort they are in that kind of condition. Some better than others. I've seen that tension style on a Genie I think. I sure did hate that one. I still wonder if someone used graphite on your machine - metal stuff coming off anyway.

Hey Miriam, why do you suppose so many of the 400 and 500 series machines end up that way? I'm wondering if it has anything to do with that fiber gear. It makes the machine seem louder than it needs to be, maybe people try "anything" to quiet it down? The 403 and the 503 weren't nearly this grungy. I really thought it was permanent. It didn't come off if you scratched it with a nail or anything.

That machine now that it's cleaned up and properly lubed, seems really good. It still flings black with the new grease, but I think that will happen until I clean the fiber gear of every speck of dirt and then some. I haven't had any time to sew on it, but when I got it, it ran slowly and made the growlies that most people complain about. It's quieter now, while test sewing, and after full disassembly, I had the piggy nose off and everything, it ran really nicely during the test stitch phase.

thank you so much for the lovely pics!! :D im excited to try my hand again at her. im also afraid i might further brake her. Hmmm...

My pleasure! Before you power it up and sew, just try everything by turning the hand wheel first. You can't hurt too much using reasonable hand power.

Oh! And your bobbin area will look different.. it will have feed dogs! :D

I'll post back once I get a chance to clean that machine up and get it tuned up, if I can find anything obvious that may be causing your bobbin winder issues. That's likely not going to be til next week now though. I have 4 more machines still on my bench before that one (since it's waiting on parts, and the others aren't), and my goal was to be finished them by the end of next week. Got 4 done this week, I'm aiming for a new personal best. :)

Good luck cleaning them!! You can do it!! :)

I no longer pull off the piggy nose - too much work... I'm glad you got it working better. I have one the sounded really funny - it had about a teaspoon of oil inside the balance wheel. - I got it out but had to leave so never tested it. Maybe tomorrow I'll get a chance.

So far so,.. uhm... well. :)

I was reassembling the bobbin winder for a 128 and the body of the winder fell apart in my hand! Then the same machine had an almost seized motor with wiring needing to be redone, and there are 2 screws missing from the knee bar controller that weren't at the beginning of the day. This is a machine that at first glance was in good shape. I robbed a motor from one of the other machines that's starting to look like a parts machine, so it's up and running, but can't wind bobbins.

I don't think I've ever had a day like that. Good grief! Now I have to decide if I want to try to JB weld the piece that broke, or find one to order from somewhere. The only one I've seen is pretty rough compared to this one, but I think once there's JB weld on this one, it'll trump rough. *sigh*

I just have to remember that tomorrow -has- to be better, right? :)
Please, please say yes.....

Boy, you're not kidding. I think for the most part a Q-Tip and Oxy would do almost as good a job as the removal, and not nearly as much time.

I may get a chance to try it out tomorrow. I have "Sewing Circle" and as the "sewing machine rescue girl", I should probably sew, since I haven't for the last 2 classes. :) I have a list of projects I want to do as long as my arm, all things to teach me to quilt on a small scale, but can't decide where to start.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get SM oil into the balance wheel. I'd love to see a pic of that.

I opened it up and the oil ran out... so no picture - I'm just not that fast. Might explain why there was a pool of oil over the motor as well... The only way I can figure it would be to put the machine on end and then pour in some oil and quick put the wheel back on then turn it back and pour oil over the motor. Now I'm going to have to pull that motor and see if it is ok. If not, I think I have another motor somewhere. The machine had frozen up stitch selector - someone loved 3 in 1 oil. It was a job to get that back one to move. I thought about dis-assembling it but if you can't get it to move, it wouldn't be that much easier to get apart. I did have to go to drastic measures. My DH laughs every time I do that though. I put cosmetic pads down in under that, stuck a panty liners to the machine to protect the paint and then put a hospital pad around the whole thing so all I had was a little hole exposing that transmission part thingy. Then I painted a pretty stiff chemical on it - usually that will open it right up. This time I had to paint it on multiple times. Then I had to use a heavy hand to move the knob - finally got it to move and then used a tad more chemical to get the dried on 3-in-1 oil off. It only takes one little tiny bit of 3-in-1 oil to gunk up one of those stitch selectors but good. If I had been patient I betcha Triflow would have done the same thing - might have taken a while of soaking and oiling. oil. wait a day. oil. wait a day. a week later do the same. not have to mess with all the pads and chemicals. I love my Singer 403... and my Singer 503 so simple.