Re: [Leica] CLA M Cameras: lubrication

[John Collier <jbcollier@home.com>]

I was at a local Leica demo and clinic day several years ago and was waiting
in line to have my rangefinder checked. The chap in front of me had a minty
M3 and Gerry Smith (Leica Repair God) just about had a heart attack when he
heard the camera fire. Gerry would not even let the chap wind the camera on
and insisted he send it for a CLA right away! My older and more battered M2
he did not even hook up to the shutter tester as it sounded great. What
Gerry did not know, but could tell, was that the M2 was only three years off
its last CLA. All petroleum and animal based lubricants lose efficacy over
time due to settling, evaporation and separation. The base materials may
remain in place but that does not lubricate and actually gums up the works.
Leica cameras are practically a engineering text book on the use of
self-lubricating material combinations and require very little lubricant. My
personal inexpert opinion is that with regular use, which keeps the
lubricants mixed and properly distributed, every ten to fifteen years would
be a good idea. You have to do it more often if the camera is seldom used as
the lubricants settle and separate. You also have to CLA more often in dusty
environments naturally. Curiously, in the newer cameras, winterising is no
longer needed. I have a test of a M6 frozen to -20šC (not just exposed) and
the shutter was still within 4% percent accuracy! Two particular lubricant
problem areas on the M cameras are the gear trains for the slow speeds and
self-timer. Just run them through their paces every month or so and every
thing should be OK. Remember that it is not just whether a camera is working
but also how well critical mechanical points are protected from wear. I
could go on but I did just recently take a vow of silence ;-)

John Collier

> From: Bill Satterfield <cwsat@cyberhighway.net>
> 
> What is the consensus on when and by whom  should  this be done. If
> camera is working OK, although old, say anythig before the M6, is it
> advisable to do it for maitenance?
>