Replacing R2 unit on x-wing

[staro]

First time poster! Dug out my original Star Wars toys that haven't been played with in about 25 years for my kids. The wings of my X-Wing won't stay open when I push down on the R2. Opened it up and saw that the blue ring at the base of the R2's dome is cracked and won't slide under the tab to lock into place. Tried gluing it but the force of keeping it under the button was too much and it broke again. Is it possible to replace the R2 with another one? How easy is it to remove the old one and attach another one? How do you do that? I'm enjoying trying to repair/clean my toys for my kids. These are just for play, not collecting. Thanks!

[LusiferSam]

How damaged is the ring? If it's only one side you should just be able to rotate the head to the other side. If you've already opened up the X-Wing take out the wing assemble and disassemble it. It's a bit harder than the main fighter, but doable. Remove the metal axle and pop the blue clips back threw the wings. You should need have the top of the battery compartment and R2s head. Remove the screw under the blue clip and the head can be pulled off. As this point you should be able to replace or rotate the head.

[staro]

How damaged is the ring? If it's only one side you should just be able to rotate the head to the other side. If you've already opened up the X-Wing take out the wing assemble and disassemble it. It's a bit harder than the main fighter, but doable. Remove the metal axle and pop the blue clips back threw the wings. You should need have the top of the battery compartment and R2s head. Remove the screw under the blue clip and the head can be pulled off. As this point you should be able to replace or rotate the head.

That was a really ingenious idea! I was hesitant before to disassemble it more than I had, but I followed your advice, and it worked! Thanks! Now just have to figure out the motor. Saw in another thread that soaking it in vinegar often helps. Does the motor come out? I got as far as the blue plastic cover over the motor, but that doesn't seem to budge and I didn't want to break it. Does it need to come out, or could I use vinegar while it is still secured in the toy? Would that bother the wires attached to it? Not sure if you know about this as well. Thanks again for the idea and directions!

[LusiferSam]

I figured a question about the motor was coming. I have lot of hands on experience with nearly every vintage SW vehicle and certainly wrote the threads you read about soaking in vinegar. While a vinegar soak does work, I'm not as big a fan of this as I use to be. There are other things I would try first.

I don't know how to remove the motor without breaking the blue cover. That said we have to work with the motor in place. I'm going to assume the LED lights up and there's nothing wrong with the contacts. When a motor like this hasn't been used in a long time it tends to 'freeze up.' So first thing to do is spin the motor by hand a few times. After that try it with the batteries. If it doesn't work try spinning it by hand with the batteries.

Whether this works or not the next step to lubricate the motor with a light machine oil. Sew machine oil or standard 3-in-1 oil are good chooses. WD 40 in not a lubricant. It's great removing water or other crude, but is too thin to be a lubricant. There's some openings on the front and back of the motor that I try to drip a little oil into. I use a bit of paper towel to blot up the excess. I normally will put a drop or two of oil, spin the motor and let sit for a minute or two and replete a few times. Try the batteries again after that. If this doesn't work we can talk about trying the vinegar.

An important note is that once to get the motor running you should run it for a bit. It's like any that that hasn't been run for a long, once you start moving these parts the better they run the longer they run. I try to run it for 5 to 10 minutes, let it sit for and hour or so and run it for another 5 to 10.

[staro]

I figured a question about the motor was coming. I have lot of hands on experience with nearly every vintage SW vehicle and certainly wrote the threads you read about soaking in vinegar. While a vinegar soak does work, I'm not as big a fan of this as I use to be. There are other things I would try first.

I don't know how to remove the motor without breaking the blue cover. That said we have to work with the motor in place. I'm going to assume the LED lights up and there's nothing wrong with the contacts. When a motor like this hasn't been used in a long time it tends to 'freeze up.' So first thing to do is spin the motor by hand a few times. After that try it with the batteries. If it doesn't work try spinning it by hand with the batteries.

Whether this works or not the next step to lubricate the motor with a light machine oil. Sew machine oil or standard 3-in-1 oil are good chooses. WD 40 in not a lubricant. It's great removing water or other crude, but is too thin to be a lubricant. There's some openings on the front and back of the motor that I try to drip a little oil into. I use a bit of paper towel to blot up the excess. I normally will put a drop or two of oil, spin the motor and let sit for a minute or two and replete a few times. Try the batteries again after that. If this doesn't work we can talk about trying the vinegar.

An important note is that once to get the motor running you should run it for a bit. It's like any that that hasn't been run for a long, once you start moving these parts the better they run the longer they run. I try to run it for 5 to 10 minutes, let it sit for and hour or so and run it for another 5 to 10.

Thanks for the specific info! I have yet to try it out. Last time I was working with the motor I did try to get some sewing machine oil in there. The motor seems to spin well when spun by hand. I'll try the oil more deliberately this weekend, spin it more, and see about running it with the batteries in while having the motor at hand. Thanks again!

[roberr22]

Always great advice, LuciferSam. Is the front light lighting up? If not, you may want to check the battery connector plate prongs for corrosion. If there is corrosion, and depending how extensive it is, you may be able to clean/scrape enough off to get it working again. Hope this helps.