Canon AE-1 Program: Seized Mirror Retarding Gears
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
This Canon AE-1 Program was locked up, no mirror release. After mirror box removal, I found that the mirror retarding gears and flywheel were seized (you can see the white plastic gears with the brass flywheel on top in the second photo). Cleaning and very light lubrication brought the mechanism back to life. This is the part that causes the “squeaking” noise on the Canon A series cameras. They don’t usually progress so far as to seize. Lots of info on lubricating this part on the internet but be very careful as the techniques that I have seen will likely result in over oiling as you are shooting in the dark with the oil applicator and can cause issues that take a major disassembly to resolve.
There is a bit of desoldering involved in removing the mirror box on the A series cameras and I have found that a stereo microscope makes soldering/desoldering a much easier and cleaner task.
