Help with a ludicrously tight ratchet joint on Optimal Optimus

[Tallestblue]

Hey guys, FINALLY received an Optimal Optimus off Ebay today, item was loose and Used, but nowhere near in as Good condition as the seller made it sound.
The Ratchet that connects to the piece of blue chrome (The Shoulder joint essentially.) on the Right arm is impossible to move, once I put it in place to convert to Jet mode it refused to budge. So...how do I go about fixing it?

Can it be dissassembled? My partner has suggested pouring graphite powder into it, will that work?

I've waited ten years for this toy and would be really upset if I had to get a new one, any hints on how to fix it would be greatly appreciated.

[Hursticon]

My original Optimal Optimus suffered the exact same issue Tallest, I know how you feel, every time you go to rotate it you feel like your gonna absolutely snap the F@#$ out of it.

My advice mate, unscrew that entire assembly, from the upper arm to the shoulder itself making sure not to lose any bits or springs etc., then, I'd spray the cogs, pins etc. with a little WD-40 then apply a really, really thin coat of oil to each piece, then reassemble everything.

You should find that everything is a little freer but you may notice that now it's better than the other shoulder, at least I did , which is sort of frustrating but at least you wont run the risk of breaking it.

What ever way you decide, I wish you luck mate as he is an incredibly show accurate and awesome figure!

Good luck.

[liegeprime]

Hmmm Im guessing the sprimng inside the shoulder joint system is a bit to "springy" for lack of a better term. Kinda like Metroplex's hip joint. Well hopefully Hursty's suggestion works TB... Ive waited a long time for this fig as well before. I had a previous purchase which had a broken robot head and incomplete, so basically I needed a whole new one. That old one now resides in my box of trades/for sale. This other one I got doesn't have the same issues on that shoulder joint you guys mentioned, come to think of it neither did my first junker OPOP, hmmm.

[Tallestblue]

Yeah, the screws are pretty stiff. a lot of them look rusty.Gonna try to get it all a part today, but I'm seriously thinking of just getting another one when i have the cash.

[kup]

I will have to check my Optimal Optimus to verify but I think that I the arm can be disassembled. I am willing to bet that the ratchet joint within has become unaligned and its causing an obstruction making the arm unmovable. If the arm can be disassembled, it should be an easy fix.

Don't pour anything on it until I can verify. WD 40 and graphite would be absolute last resorts and only for internal work, specially for a plastic toy with chrome.

[Tallestblue]

I've tried disassembling it and the screws will not budge. It looks like I'll have to just get another one.