The Better N64 Joystick Repair

[@Malzanar2010]

Being that the new bowls are made of POM, they’ll probably last way longer than the original and even outlive the rest of the controller. POM is a low friction and high durability plastic that they use specifically for high impact/high wear applications. Really smart choice on their part using that.

[@legostar55]

"Polyoxymethylene, also known as acetal, polyacetal, and polyformaldehyde, is an engineering thermoplastic used in precision parts requiring high stiffness, low friction, and excellent dimensional stability". Just putting this here for others to know what that is without having to look it up.

[@Malzanar2010]

@@legostar55 thanks! Good info.

[@h8GW]

*THE 2ND BIG REASON* to fix the stick instead of getting a replacement assembly is that all the new sticks, _EVEN NINTENDO'S OWN NSO N64 CLONE CONTROLLER,_ use potentiometers, meaning there's a likelihood the replacements will develop stick drift. The optical wheels are contactless, so in theory they'll be accurate forever. Also, a lot of the replacement sticks have poorly-mapped stick ranges, meaning they'll be inaccurate right out the box.

[@kalmtraveler]

for anyone else who sees this - also you want to use some silicon grease in the bowl, on the gears where they sit in the bowl cutouts and in the slots where the joystick stick itself moves around. Will last much longer that way.

[@midivania]

How's your Kitsch Bent repair holding up these days? Would love an update.

[@GregDaGoblin]

Bought gears from them years ago. Still have 20 left in a bag. But I don't recall them selling bowls back then. Need to jump on those!

[@dcdream2k]

Just watched your video fantastic saved me buying the unofficial 3rd party Chinese replacements, just purchased 10 of each to repair my controllers thanks again great job.

[@DisneyTLK110]

I'd recommend you try out a new stick as well! That made the biggest difference for me when it comes to the feel, really smooth! Also, a bit of suitable lube of course.

[@DisneyTLK110]

@@GetN3orGetOut I agree, but at the same time it's good to be able to easy tell it's not official.

[@8bitfrenzy376]

@@DisneyTLK110 He has a white one now that looks pretty close to OEM

[@Satiator123]

​@@GetN3orGetOut they do. They are real close but not a perfect match. The average person wouldn't notice side by side.

[@KokoroKatsura]

just got 4 replacement parts this month, will try these soon, they come with greases too

[@spartanvi]

Glad I found this video. Got a set of 4 gears and bowls to restore all of my controllers even though only 1 of them kinda needs restoration now. Going to do this and dab some silicone grease on the new gears.

[@Leonelfreak]

the way you pulled that z trigger jesus. so when youre facing the controller only the left clip moves, the right one doesnt. so just open the left side pin and slide it out dont just pull up unless you want to break the right one one day.

[@pauldykstra7497]

Amazing vid. Just ordered 10 sets to fix my controlers and have extra.

[@yungbless9383]

Do you have the links? The ones he posted aren’t working anymore.

[@seguramlk]

Thank you so much my friend. Awesome solution 👍

[@rosaline3022]

i was about to buy those but the shipment was like 15 times more than the prices asjhflafsa thanks for the info tho!

[@uzi4u182]

One thing you forgot to mention about the aftermarket joystick modules, is that they're all completely garbage and barely even usable. So, ultimately a waste of 15 bucks anyways. I just got these parts and plan to rebuild mine soon!

[@HKT-4300]

I wish the price wouldn't be ridiculous for them here in europe, they're still 3 bucks or something for a set but the shipping is 15 bucks, i really want some working n64 controllers so it's my only option, really hard to pull the trigger on them though

[@anyaimlle]

I replaced my joystick but now it sticks and stays leaned to the left slightly sometimes.

[@JamilThePimpLol]

I ordered a bunch of sets of these off eBay for about $12 a set… disappointed with them. They snap back to center but they’re inconsistent when it comes to benchmarks. Some values are close to the 85 perfect number but some directions like left are at as low as 72. Not exactly sure why that would be, but I tried it with 3 different controllers and had similar results.

[@vincentgravel92]

Same, almost perfect but there's always one direction where I have low values and I can't figure it out. Mario would run up, right, and down, but walk left :D

[@JamilThePimpLol]

@@vincentgravel92 I genuinely couldn’t see why when I took it out and looked at the gears. Some type of inconsistency… if only the manufacturer would work it out these would be 100% OEM replacements

[@jakemartin2356]

This is an issue I had with my first controller I rebuilt. No matter how many times I took it apart and put it all back together it was like 1 direction just wouldn't work correctly. What I found is that the board inside the joystick has two slots where the wheels turn inside to give input, those need to be cleaned carefully, but very well. I've found that some of the dust from the old bowl can interfere with your inputs once you replace stuff. Always clean the board! Also, make sure to lube the bowl and gears, it will make the movement smoother, and help it last longer, just don't get any on the wheels, only the geared spots and inside the bowl.

[@hw5091]

A work around is to use some epoxy. Usually the left to right is an issue w those. A tiny bit of sanding to the edge, then just a film of epoxy, n when dried, buffed it smooth. That will usually fix the issue. Hell you can epoxy the the old gears if you still have them n it works too n then you really have a great fit.

[@penguinjay]

do you find the replacement bowls do not sit flat into the old housing? I end up sanding down the middle peg or it wobbles. When fully reassembled and screwed tight it wont work unless I do that, or back the screw out slightly that hold the housing together. I don't think you had this problem bc of the old stick, or in the case you actually got your bowl to sit flush and flat where the original one was.

[@scottb_02]

They’re never open it seems, been trying for a year to get some, every time I check something like this. I’d really love the steel bowl & steak stick, but those are harder to get than a ultra HDMI board lol

[@MileHighScaleModeler]

Sadly, it appears the company is out of business for the parts?? Shopify is blank. Is there another place that sells these parts that is reputable and close or comparable quality?

[@agizmo]

Looks like they updated the store front to say they're temporarily closed. This isn't the first time I've seen this happen with that particular seller. I don't know of anyone else making replacement parts.

[@scottb_02]

They’re never open it seems, been trying for a year to get some, every time I check something like this. I’d really love a Steel bowl & steak stick, but those are harder to get than ultra HDMI board lol

[@moniqueduru]

nice tutorial thanks

[@dotmatrixmoe]

Holy heck, why does everyone have my controller! Great video!

[@yungbless9383]

Got new links?

[@Satiator123]

I see people using grease. Is that a bad idea??

[@KokoroKatsura]

the grease protects from plastics grinding each other this month i bought it came with greases

[@yungbless9383]

👍

[@mrspris_]

can I change only the black gears? or white ones are essential?

[@KokoroKatsura]

bowl, stick and gears are worn out and need to be replaced

[@zackittup]

Did they get a new website? Seems like the site in the link is down

[@TheGamingPolitician]

It’s been like that for awhile now. I’m kinda mad cause I want these parts

[@glengummerson5649]

Ordered some yesterday

[@Yer0]

@@glengummerson5649 ¿Can you please share te link to buy them now?

[@jeffbanfieldsflwr3537]

Hey, I subbed, you did a great job!

[@RunnJake]

where the fuck do you live that you found an n64 controller "at the thrift store"

[@JamilThePimpLol]

Gotta go out and look.. I find them all the time

[@rod9527]

They do international shipping?

[@Saddnnd]

Yeah, just cost me an extra $15 for shipping to Canada so order in bulk so you have extras or for having spares.

[@sirtrygve75]

Does this fix the drift? Also does it work on a sharpshooter stick? Or other 3rd party sticks?

[@agizmo]

This repair should help the original stick. Once the parts are deburred and greased, they should feel much better than a worn out stick. I'm not sure if it will work with the sharpshooter. They're listed as "optical" which is the same technology as the original stick, but it would depend on Old Skool using the same parts as Nintendo. I doubt this repair will work with other 3rd part sticks. Most of those controllers use potentiometers to measure the stick movement, rather than optical encoders like the original stick design.

[@alexflores_91]

You should lubricate all those new parts

[@Saddnnd]

Any idea what lubrication to use? Just simple grease or electronic grease?

[@HesterDW]

@@Saddnnd Super Lube PTFE Grease. I tried Super Lube Oil when I did mine but I think it was too thin.

[@legostar55]

@@Saddnnd If you have some silicone dielectric grease that also works fine. I used it on the bowl (a big glob), all the pivot points, and anywhere else that makes contact. DO NOT put it on the gears.

[@RedTroPc]

got hit with the 404 page not found when clicking the links. Sade