Does anyone else have this problem at all? It’s hard to tell from the picture (sorry, was the best I could do). But the shaft on my JLF has been slowly grinding away at the gate. All the dandruff looking specs in the picture are about a weeks worth of grinding (I have to open the case and clean it weekly for the last ~month and I haven’t played much this week either). I don’t consider myself to be very rough on my stick (especially considering it’s a TEK-Case) so I was wondering if this is normal.
That isn’t normal, there must be a defect on your JLF. Maybe double check the actuator for any rough edges, or double check that the C clip isn’t digging into the gate at an angle. You should be able to take it out, look at it upside down while moving the stick and see what part grinds the gate. You’ll probably have to buy a new gate, too, unless you want one that has been widened by usage while you were playing the last month. BTW, is that a custom plastic joystick plate?
So I took the bottom panel off again to clean it/check what is rubbing. And the only part that is rubbing/grinding on the gate is the black smooth part that is SUPPOSED to rub. It hasn’t really widened the gate at all since it is just grinding at the angles of the gate (like the top/bottom right angles that make the square if you are looking at it flat, I don’t know how to explain it, lol). More so on the top side (again if you are looking at the gate flat while the joystick is right side up).
The bottom of one my case looks just like that but I have a octagonal gate so it’s yellow, but the little pieces are still white. Since they were not yellow and the gate seems fine, I just thought it was little pieces of lube or grease spitting out. Maybe I need to open it up and see what it actually is…
More than likely it’s the actuator making those flakes. I’ve had similar issues with JLF actuators, but really only when I’m using a round gate. The flaking comes form the actuator making direct contact with the gate.
My suggestion would be to disengage the e-clip, remove the actuator and inspect it for any deep gouges. If so, you may want to look at buying a replacement actuator from Lizard Lick. They’re relatively inexpensive and easy to replace.
This. Also in general most of the individual parts for joysticks aren’t too expensive (springs, e-clip, actuator, spring cover, etc.) and are all easily replaced by even the most technically challenged of individuals and the more expensive stick parts (shaft, main body, mounting plate) shouldn’t break unless the user does something phenomenally stupid. About the only expensive part that can really wear out is the microswitches.
Was just about to post something about synchros needing replacement and the need to heel-toe when downshifting to protect the cogs, then I realized that this is the wrong forum for that.