I’ve been using my round 2 TE stick for well over a year clocking nearly 700 hours on ssf4.
I now noticed that the sanwa stick has stiffened up a lot.
Compared to my mates round 1 TE which has hardly been used and my chun TE-s which has never been used at all, my round 2 TE stick is much stiffer. It does not snap back as much as the other jlf sticks I’m comparing it to.
The stick is also more noisy and not nearly as smooth when moving it around.
What could this be and how can I sort it out?
Do you think the spring is worn out?
Could it be that it needs extra lubrication? When I first started using the stick I did notice a squeaking noise which disappeared after a while.
Any advice or experience on the matter that can be shared would be gratefully appreciated.
I thought I was imagining it till I asked the wife(who is clueless about gaming!) to wiggle 3 joysticks around, my stiff jlf, normal round 1 TE jlf and a modded SE stick with a seimitsu ls-32.
She said that the stiffest stick was the problematic round 2 jlf! Even stiffer than the ls-32 and it really is!
I don’t really want to buy a new jlf but would like to fix this stick to how it’s meant to be, loose and smooth.
Also this lube stuff is expensive (£20!) just for a small tube, granted it will last a life time but more expensive than getting a new jlf. I also would have no idea how and where to apply this lube. ( if that is the problem)
Any responses would be really great. I rarely post on srk but browse everyday on tech talk. I’m loving the arcade stick thread! Keep up the good work.
I believe your stick needs lubrication. I suggest you buy the tube anyway as this problem will occur again. You may want to open up the JLF stick and check first if there are not any other problems however.
You apply it in all parts of the joystick that “move” and make contact with each other’s plastic. Not much can go wrong if you apply the lubricant “liberally” or “everywhere” on the stick. But the main area(s) of concern is the pivot (white bowl-shaped and its related area on the JLF body) and the underside where the metal washer is. You will use lubricant to “glue” the disc onto the JLF body.
Lubricant grease is very versatile and I am sure you will find many uses for it. Laugh.
As a moderator for this section, I’m disappointed at the lack of jokes on the subject. I mean, stick gone “stiff?” Lubrication? This topic is ripe for bad jokes.
That said, disassemble the stick first, see if it’s just lube or an issue with the spring.
I went on like a cheap skate and bought some silicone based lubricant from Halfords for £5. It came in a spray can.
Obviously very watery stuff.
Sprayed it in to the pivot and where the plastics were touching each other. I did not feel like taking the whole stick apart, so just sprayed it in with the straw after taking of the gate,pcb and switches.
After putting it back together the stick felt much better and smoother but a couple of hours later it went back to being stiff. I think the watery lubricant dried up. I hope it does not start to rust.
Thanks for your help. I am sure it just needs a better gel like lubricant. However I’m still not prepared to spend about £25 on a tube of lube from gremlins that will probably only use a few times before I die.
I looked on amazon for silicone lubes and it came up with a few for around £5 for a small quantity.
Could some one suggest a cheaper alternative of joystick lube that I can get in the UK?
Thanks for all your help and quick responses.
( I also know cheap jokes about stiff sticks and lube would be too easy and low for smart guys like you lol)
Every man knows a stiff stick needs a good rub down every now and then…take it out…look it over…I’m sure you will notice quite a build up if you play with it a lot…just clean it off with a towel and I’m sure you will notice a big difference…you probably don’t even need lube…