Pioneer PL-518: Servicing and Cartridge Alignment

This beautiful 518 came in for routine maintenance.

[@Toyota4Low]

Once again. Thank you for posting these videos! Now helped me in this table and my 560!

[@martyjewell5683]

This video is a keeper. When upgrading my turntable in 1979 from my BIC-920 unit I purchased this PL-518 for $118. Never regretted it. A fine performer, it was reasonably easy to set up. I liked the included overhang gauge and 45 adapter. The mesmerizing strobe was cool and all controls were easy access. The pitch control was a bonus. Specs were excellent for 1979 and still very good today; Rumble 73dB and Wow/Flutter 0.03%. A heavy sucker, it handles external vibration excellently. It has been my only turntable for 43 years. With a Shure M95HE pickup it is boss. Money well spent, fuhgeddaboudit.

[@paulredfern3832]

Don't know if you will see this, but just wanted to say thank you. Just got a PL-518 spinning thanks to your video. Also a video on the Technics SL-D202 was helpful.👍

[@JackstandJohnny]

Man, youre awesome. A year ago my friend gave me one of these that needs some work. At least a new headshell, cartridge and feet. I just started tinkering with it and I got so lucky that you made this video just a few months back. You saved my butt. I hope I can get this working to reppace the super cheap belt drive USB converter table Ive been using.

[@EddieJazzFan]

Those old Pioneer tables had so much quality built in. They really last a lifetime!

[@thomasohman7802]

Thank you for this video. I got my Dads old pl-518 but was having issues keeping the speed consistent. Turns out the problem was with the pitch adjuster, a little contact spray and she's working as good as new!

[@jackgates6949]

Mine, that I bought new right out of high school in 1978, had been acting up. The speed control was erratic and you couldn't adjust it. I took it in for service a few years ago and was ready to do it again. Followed your instructions and now it runs beautifully once again! Thank you!

[@TurntableGuy]

Awesome! Glad to hear.

[@Gili1973]

love your videos,learning a lot!

[@mf1932]

Great episode! And digging the new camera.

[@TurntableGuy]

Thanks!

[@fostercaffrey9977]

Exactly what I was looking for thank you so much!

[@mikelexp]

Looks a lot better! Your videos are great!

[@TurntableGuy]

Thanks!

[@appalachianwoman561]

This was the record player my parents owned with the rest of the matching Pioneer set up & one of those things that looked like a speaker except it had this frosted plastic that would light up with the music. I'd love to be able to find one of these and restore it as I remember many times listening to music on it.

[@Mrstyro65]

My brother in law gave me a very clean PL-518,the speed issue has been driving me nuts.Speeds up then slows down.Very nice video.The only thing I would disagree about is that ugly silver color vinyl that they wrapped the plinth with.Want to put some mahogany veneer on it.

[@marcharrison1]

Same!

[@bmboldt]

I bought a PL-516 new in high school. I threw it away 20 years ago due to speed issues and I had been selling off most of my vinyl. Fast forward to the present and I am back into vinyl and fixing up turntables. I could kick myself. I know I could have easily fixed it now.

[@mattblakeslee4309]

Thank you for this. I just bought one recently, my first legit setup.

[@marcharrison1]

How much did you pay for it? I’m eyeing one now for $200

[@martobasichlio4699]

Joe Jackson, the best!!! Pioneer PL-518 too.

[@biffnarzilla4649]

Nicely done video. I just acquired the same model and have the same situation with the speed adjustment pot. The return spring is also a bit stiff but that's easily fixed. If someone doesn't want to spend $!50+ for new feet, 1½" hemispherical Sorbothane bumpers can be affixed directly to the bottoms of the remaining foot assemblies with great success. But 1) 71% isopropyl alcohol is 71% alcohol + 29% "other stuff" (including distilled water. 2) The owner did an Ok job on the acrylic lid but by no means an outstanding one - you can still see many circular swirl marks in the reflected light. Nice, but not great.

[@astolatpere11]

My PL518 had a problem with the anti skating adjustment. If I followed the instructions and set anti skating the same as the vtf, it was way too much pull on the tonearm. I checked the operation of the knob and it looked fine. I relubed the workings and reset the antiskating using a Shure test record with a blank track. I barely moved the knob and there is plenty of antiskate and no more distortion.

[@ocularcavity8412]

Great Video keep it up XD. I have One of these Turntables and I LOVE IT!!!! I bought it a few years back for around $200 at my local record shop because it was so SOLID and BEAUTIFUL it runs great but it has one peculiarity though. It seem the pitch keep going ever so slightly faster every so often it is very minor so the pitch adjust knob is enough to correct it but I am slowly running out of Knob i wonder if who ever set it up to sell it at the shop just adjusted an internal potentiometer without lubing the motor /spindle and with me using it regularly is loosening up the old girl and making it pick up speed or maybe a resistor is starting to go bad in the motor control system? Any Ideas?

[@Trojan0304]

My 518 still playing well after 43+ years, built like a tank

[@jackgates6949]

Mine too!

[@DMac-rt3xj]

Awesome video. I just picked on of these up and it spins just a bit slow. I’m going to give it a bit of oil and see if that helps if not I’ll give the pot switches a try.

[@TurntableGuy]

It's slow even when adjusting the pitch control? Probably needs the motor board trimmers adjusted.

[@mtracy7055]

I bought a Pioneer PL-518. Is there some kind of black spacer between the large tone arm weight or is it just two weights; one with the numbers going from 0 to 3 and the larger one behind it?

[@jonweathers5905]

Great video!. I learned so much. I have a Pioneer PL-520, Being it was only made for one year (1978) There is not very much info I can find. I did get a PDF of the repair manual. But I have no idea what needle to buy?. I can't find any online stores that say their needle is for my model # PL-520 ?. Anyways Thank you so much for your video.

[@TurntableGuy]

Just buy a whole new cartridge for it.

[@jonweathers5905]

I couldn't find anything that was definitely for my model number. But I took a chance on a $33 cartridge off of Amazon and it works!

[@vodencarevic1938]

Have same one it is great,but can you tell me how and where I can find needle only,did check on Amazon but could not find only needle....

[@JLPryce]

I’ve had my 518 since high school. Unfortunately the feet are toasted and I cracked the dust cover. Definitely service my TT after watching your video. Thank you. Any recommendations for cover and dampener / feet replacements?

[@TurntableGuy]

There are aftermarket dust covers available, but they're expensive. As for feet, check out organdonorparts.com

[@stevendale8089]

Great Video..quality of your phone camera is excellent. I just subscribed.....You mentioned the PL-560...mine is working and sounding great except for the pitch control meter lights up, pitch controls work, but pitch meter needle does not move. I am afraid I loosened a connection last time I had it apart for a right channel sound issue. Tried some deoxit on the pitch control...needle does not budge....did a finger tap on it, no movement...Do you have any ideas of what I can do to coax the meter needle back into movement? I've looked at it from underneath...looks like it is in pretty deep in the tone arm unit mechanism. Thanks!

[@TurntableGuy]

Check the voltages on the meter supply wires.

[@stevendale8089]

@@TurntableGuy Thank you, I'll give it a try

[@stevea928]

Thanks for this! I actually just got an ortofon blue cartridge, so I was wondering if you could describe a bit further how you got it seated properly. Are all four corners of the cart against the outer lip of the headshell as opposed to inside the cavity?

[@TurntableGuy]

I would mount the 2M series on a dedicated Ortofon SH-4 headshell and align it to the Pioneer 49mm alignment.

[@stevea928]

@@TurntableGuy yeah, that’s my plan for whenever they come back in stock anywhere. I guess I’ll just wait until then vs trying to make it work with the stock headshell. Just wasn’t sure how easy or difficult it was to rig it on the pioneer one.

[@705johnnyboy]

one off my tts is a 514 belt verstion off this ,there no plastic fantastic and so worth getting while reasonably cheap ,youl be up for a grand to get these decks soon,their catching onto technics sl1300 type decks to...

[@Charmagne13]

Hello, Love the videos. Can you please tell me what 30 weight oil you are using? Automotive? Compressor? Thank you very much.

[@TurntableGuy]

It's Motomaster (Shell) General Purpose, Non-detergent SAE 30. Definitely not for automobiles. Chainsaw and compressor oil would work as well.

[@syfrettsj]

Great video! I have a PL-518 that I bought in 1979 to replace a Gerrard turntable. This will get me started with cleaning the pot, but is there any source for new replacement feet assemblies? All 4 of mine have detached, so I figure there's not much point in disassembling, cleaning and reassembly if I can't get the feet back. Suggestions?

[@TurntableGuy]

There are many aftermarket feet available, or check ebay for originals.

[@syfrettsj]

@@TurntableGuy thanks. Right after I posted I went to ebay and found replacement rubber insulators that are supposed to work. I hope they do! Based on the supplied photos, they should be exact replacements.

[@paolorecchia2714]

@@syfrettsj i do not know if you already did the job, but i want to tell you to pay attention to the position of the feets. They are not put random, they have their position themselves, and it's cause inside the feets there are the springs, colored springs (2 red, 1 green, 1 blue). They have to support different weight, depends on the position, front or rear, left or right.

[@bjornvanombergen5984]

Hi there , nice video. Is it possible to show how to correct the demping of the tonearm on a pioneer PL-516 and how to service them ? Mine is dropping to quick.

[@TurntableGuy]

Watch this video on fluid dampening replacement on a Technics. It will be very similar: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYnVe5qCr62eY8k&ab_channel=TurntableGuy

[@donovanpyle1]

Great video. I just plugged mine in after not using it for a few years, and the deck keeps spinning no matter what position the arm is in. Any ideas on how to fix it?

[@TurntableGuy]

I'm thinking the motor micro switch is either dirty or out of position. Also, the auto-return mechanism may need to cycle.

[@hankalspach1]

Hey Turntable Guy, on this series of Pioneer (including belt drive) and older series, what would you lubricate to smooth out a jerky auto-return mechanism? Would it be the underside (as viewed from the top) of the big white auto-return gear? I have a PL-514 and a PL-115D that both suffer from this. They work, but the movement is not fluid. Thanks!

[@TurntableGuy]

It's probably just the rubber on the arm lifter. Clean it with some alcohol, then a little silicone will make the arm swing back smoothly.

[@hankalspach1]

@@TurntableGuy Thanks for the quick reply. That does give me a little improvement, although they're both still a little jerky. Of course, there's every possibility that the lifter surface is not as smooth as it once was, being from the mid-to-late 70's. I guess what you're saying is that I'm barking up the wrong tree thinking that it's some internal mechanism? An online search on this (smoothness) issue doesn't return much useful info.

[@paolorecchia2714]

Nice video, thank you !!! Asking... what is the best cartrige and stylus for it? Also with a good compliance fit for it. THANKS

[@TurntableGuy]

There is no "best" cartridge for any turntable. You buy what you like. But, a good match would be the Audio Technica AT-VM95 seres.

[@paolorecchia2714]

@@TurntableGuy I'm an old school, i was a radio Dj on the 70-80, and i do not know how the new cartriges sound... so i can't try all :-) Thank uuuuu

[@nickstamatovich6106]

Maybe you can answer this, because I cannot find an answer. If you use the pioneer specified overhang, do you have to still use a protractor for alignment? Or do you just leave it in straight?

[@TurntableGuy]

The Pioneer overhang means the cartridge is perfectly straight in the headshell at 49mm.

[@illia2492]

❤❤❤

[@leirascanio]

Sabes si la tapa acrílica puede pulirse para que mejore su aspecto...?

[@TurntableGuy]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXO9YZx-pJl-mtE

[@iamjezuzchrist]

Hi turntable guy, when you serviced the motor and spindle with oil, you mentioned "non-detergent oil." I know what that means (mineral vs synthetic) but is there a specific reason why?

[@TurntableGuy]

Actually, it doesn't mean mineral vs synthetic, it means an oil without any additives (like car engine oil). You can use either mineral or synthetic. Bearings do not need anti-wear additives.

[@mtracy7055]

What was used for the dust cover restoration? Mine is a Pioneer PL-518 too.

[@TurntableGuy]

Watch my video on dustcover restoration.

[@nickstamatovich6106]

I have the same table with a 2M red. It did not seem to fit the stock headshell. Are the silver and the red the same size?

[@nickstamatovich6106]

If I had finished watching, my question would have been answered!

[@Zockopa]

How to adjust the cartridge with a real adjustment template like that from Schön ? Or is that unknown in the US ?

[@TurntableGuy]

You can use a cartridge alignment protractor or just set the cartridge 49mm from diamond tip to gasket.

[@Zockopa]

@@TurntableGuy Well,its not that simple. Especially with needles that have ML,SH or MR styli. Those need to be precisely adjusted or the money is wasted.

[@davidwatson8677]

I have this turntable and I get a bad humm and no sound. Connected to a Onkyo amp with dedicated phono inputs ? Any idea what could be wrong ??

[@TurntableGuy]

Bad cables, bad cartridge? Clean headshell connections, check continuity to RCA plugs.

[@fox_exley-jarvis]

I have a 518 where the tiny wires under the motor were snapped. Is there a way to fix it ?

[@TurntableGuy]

Probably easier to look for a donor motor

[@fox_exley-jarvis]

@@TurntableGuy will any other model do or it has to be the same one?

[@bigdr33gtst]

Hi Guy, where in the world do you work out of?

[@TurntableGuy]

Ontario, Canada

[@vinyldirect820]

I HAVE A PL520 AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO REMOVE THE PLATTER, I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ON THE INTERNET, TO BE ABLE TO DISASSEMBLE IT, I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR HELP AND WISDOM

[@TurntableGuy]

Pretty sure you just pull up on the platter. If it is stuck, hit the spindle gently with the handle of a screwdriver a few times. Should pop right up.

[@vinyldirect820]

@@TurntableGuy yessssss i got it thank you so much !!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@ekbanjosworld4926]

3mm Allen Wrench