Gottlieb World Fair (Gottlieb, 1964) rat trap

[jay3489]

Took a rat trap score reel apart for cleaning and lubricating. After reassembling I encountered the following problem

When I manually push the plunger in, everything moves about 99% but not quite enough to move the score reel to the next position Just a tiny bit shy of engaging in the gear to grab

Not moving far enough to engage the gear

If I turn the nylon gear assembly just a slight amount everything falls in place and it advances properly

Tightening the spring did not help

Is there any way this can be adjusted ?

 

[pinballdaveh]

Took a rat trap score reel apart for cleaning and lubricating. After reassembling I encountered the following problem

When I manually push the plunger in, everything moves about 99% but not quite enough to move the score reel to the next position Just a tiny bit shy of engaging in the gear to grab

Not moving far enough to engage the gear

If I turn the nylon gear assembly just a slight amount everything falls in place and it advances properly

Tightening the spring did not help

Is there any way this can be adjusted ?

I haven’t worked on a gottlieb with rat trap score reels in over 50 years. Of what I remember of those units there wasn’t any tips other than the spring tension adjustment. Mechanical operation by hand and visual inspection and maybe swapping out of parts with another score reel might be what’s needed to find the problem.
Instructional videos of rat trap score reel cleaning and reassembly are online.