Fixing stuck drop targets on a Bally SS pinball machine (Mystic)

This is another one of those video series where I thought to myself, “If I were smart I would edit this.” But then I thought, I can’t be the ultimate pinball repair guru and I’m not really trying. If I have some kind of “angle” it’s that I’m doing a FPS (First-Person-Shooter) perspective to the hobby, collecting and restoring. And often times when you’re in an FPS, you poke your head down the wrong hall and get fragged. This is kind of how this video series starts off but it takes part 3 to realize the plot twist…

Ok I’ll get off confusing metaphors and back to pinball repair..

The problem I had was when I got this Bally Mystic, one of the targets was broken. I had ordered replacement targets. I opted for the same style as the side targets even though on many Bally Mystics, for some reason, the front targets are bullseyes and the side targets have explosion graphics on them. Go figure? Anyway, after replacing the targets I discovered that two of them would often get stuck in the “up” position and would often not retract when hit. I knew the springs on some of the targets were old and had “lost their zest” (that’s an official technical term by the way). So I thought I’d make a video on replacing the springs, showing an alternate source for some of the components as well as a trick to make an old spring kinda new. Along the way I discovered the real reason why the drop targets weren’t resetting…

3 thoughts on “Fixing stuck drop targets on a Bally SS pinball machine (Mystic)

  1. hi I watched you vid on drop targets my bally/Williams pool sharks has a odd problem, when I hitthe target the drop but very slowly … any ideas on how to overcome this…cheers vince

    • On many games, they put some light grease between the drop targets and the mechanism they slide on. Over time, this grease hardens and attracts “black dust” so they need to be taken apart and cleaned and should work better. I don’t put any grease back in. I clean it well with alcohol and then spray some silicone lubricant and then wipe it clean.

  2. Thanks for explaining how mentioning how jammed targets may have springs that are too old to function properly. I found a pinball machine in my uncle’s attic, and I have noticed that all of the springs have corroded over time which makes the machine unable to function. It may be best for me to find a repair service that can help me properly install new springs.

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