JHzlwd Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 I've had this excellent unit for several years and it has endured frequent use. Recently the joystick began showing signs of wear with a lot of '"stick-slip" effect leading to jerky flight control inputs. Disassembly and re-smearing of lubricant in the obvious places inside the case made no difference. From the outside you will notice a steel shaft going up into the stick through a flange and then a bushing in the stick itself. At both places I applied a liberal amount of lithium grease spray you can get in an automotive supply store. That did the trick, restoring silky smooth operation. You have to work the stick around for awhile to spread the grease, then wipe up the excess. There was a chance the solvents in the grease could deteriorate the bushing which is probably nylon or some other plastic but this has proved not to be the case. Check the can. If it says OK for rubber you are probably safe. Anyway, figured there was nothing to lose. It's unlikely even the stick is worn - the original lubricant eventually works its way out leading to dry bearing surfaces. FWIW. I7-2600K@4322 MHz / Asus P8Z77 Deluxe EVGA GeForce1080 SC Video Samsung EVO 850 SSD / Dell U2711 monitor@2560X1440 Saitek X55 "Rhino" / Logitech G510 Win 10 Pro 64 bit
DaveRindner Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 Hey there. I just solved a similar problem with my 2009 vintage X52 Pro. My stick started to stick, then slip forward, making flight difficult. Turns out, that the sticking slipping part is the base ring(?) which is pressed into base opening with two spring. Well that base ring was sticking to the stick's central metal column. Its spine. Went auto parts (PepBoys) and got DIELECTRIC GREASE, in auto electric dept. Its made with silicon and it appeared to NOT damage any plastic parts. Also , at RadioShack got ControlContact Cleaner and first cleaned the base and springs with it. It dissolves built up gunk. Followed it up liberal amount of dielectric grease, whirled the stick around for 30 seconds. Wipe off the excess, and now X52 Pro is almost as good as new. Sadly I think the spring coils lost some of their tightness. I can see how above lends itself to sophmoric snarkiness. But jerking your stick around for a minute after lubing it grease, is a neccessary task.
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