Apple 400k Floppy Drive Lubrication Repair (Macintosh 128K & 512k)

Introduction

This video guide (see "Video Instructions" below) shows how to disassemble the original Macintosh 128k (from 1984) or 512k (from 1985) in order to remove and lubricate the 400k floppy drive, then reassemble and test. How to safely discharge the CRT is also shown.

I suggest watching the video guide on YouTube so you can read important information I wrote in the text description. To see that text, simply open the video on YouTube, look beneath the video and click "SHOW MORE" to see my notes.

Note that the Lisa 2 and Macintosh XL also used this same 400k 3.5” floppy drive. However, the Macintosh 512ke and Plus (1986) have 800k floppy drives which are not covered by this video guide.

This video does not cover all problems associated with these 400k single-sided 3.5” disk drives but instead addresses the most common problem of the original lubrication having dried, causing moving parts not to move anymore. Symptoms of this problem include an attempt to insert a floppy into the drive, only to find the disk won’t drop down (won’t spin or boot).

What you need

Video Instructions

Apple 400k Floppy Drive Lube Repair [1984 Macintosh]

Video Source

Conclusion

Lubricating an Apple 3.5” 400k floppy disk drive is not difficult if you have all the required tools and silicone grease. Lubricating the moving parts doesn’t fix all drive problems but does fix the most common fault.

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