The Beogram 4002 (5514) I was working on had a completely frozen arm lowering mechanism. The old lubricant had become so hardened that I had to use a screwdriver to pry the linkages off their pivot pins. This is a common issue, easily resolved by cleaning and re-lubricating the mechanism. Here’s a picture of the solenoid, damper, and linkages before disassembly:

This image shows the disassembled parts laid out on my workbench:

This video provides a detailed guide on rebuilding the tonearm mechanism. After reassembling the mechanism with fresh lubricant, I shifted my focus to the damper-to-arm linkage. This photo shows the arms from the back. The linkage is visible protruding at the rear, just beneath the yellow paint mark:

To lubricate its pin, the sensor arm needed to be extracted:

This linkage was also seized, and it can be removed along with its pivot pin:

After separating the pin from the linkage, I used epoxy to glue it back in place. I then reinstalled the linkage with a touch of silicone grease. This video demonstrates how to access and re-lubricate the damper-to-arm linkage. With that done, it was time to put the sensor arm back in and align both arms. They should be parallel to each other and perpendicular to the carriage rods:

This marked the completion of the arm lowering mechanism restoration, allowing me to move on to the tracking system. Typically, I replace the original incandescent bulb assembly with my SMD LED-based light source because the original bulbs are no longer available. LEDs have a very long lifespan, promising long-term, trouble-free carriage operation. I also usually replace the often unstable and/or cracked plastic carriage pulley with a precision-machined aluminum version sourced from Nick at Beoworld. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to connect with Nick; just send me an email. Here’s a look at the original components in place:

With the original bulb housing removed, you can see the tracking system aperture:

This image showcases the 3D-printed replacement part next to the original bulb housing:

My replacement part includes a built-in intensity adjustment, simplifying the fine-tuning of the tracking feedback sensitivity.

Here’s a glimpse of the installed components:

Looking good, don’t you think? I’ll adjust the tracking system sensitivity after I’ve finished refurbishing the PCBs.