Rolex pre-C Sub bezel action decidedly wobbly/boggy after removal..

[john_coburg]

Afternoon all,
I just replaced the insert on my 16610LV (of course i kept the old one) but now the bezel is back on, the action has become awful...it feels cheap and tacky, much looser, with lots of play. I'm sure it was 'spot on' before i took it off, tight, sharp and crisp. I've had it off and on again, and i'm sure it's properly 'on', it just feels awful, and it annoying me no-end! I think it might be the particular groove i have set the click spring into, which is just the one it naturally 'falls in to' when affixing the bezel..but perhaps it needs to be the groove closer to where the spring is housed... which would need a bit of bending. I'm nervous of bending this thing out of shape, as once that happens, i suspect the thing is for the bin.

I have felt this 'tacky' feel on Sub bezels in the past, and always wondered what was causing it...and now i have it myself! it must be the position of this spring, but i really don't want to do anything potentially silly before checking.

Can anyone advise on this subtle, yet extremely irritating topic...?

Thank you so much.
John

[2012]

I assume the spring you are talking about is the small pin type implement that allows the bezel to click and keeps it from going clockwise?

Are you sure it is there at all? When you took the bezel off, what precautions did you take? I ask this as this pin shot off when I took mine off, and advice at the time was to take the bezel off whilst holding it inside a bag, so that the pin at least shoots off in the bag.

If it is there, then I would take the bezel off an reinsert. But first, I'd trawl some youtube video's to double check that I'm doing it right. Good luck.

[john_coburg]

Thanks. Yes, it's certainly there..it would just turn freely otherwise. I've found 4 or 5 YT clips, but both very low on detail, and don't talk about the position of the spring. I've mounted the bezel with the insert out so i can fiddle with the spring, but really don't want to bend it unnecessarily.. although i'm starting to thing it's going to need to be bent a bit, to fit in a closer groove, which i feel might tighten/sharpen up the action. But i'd like someone to confirm this before i do it!

I assume the spring you are talking about is the small pin type implement that allows the bezel to click and keeps it from going clockwise?

Are you sure it is there at all? When you took the bezel off, what precautions did you take? I ask this as this pin shot off when I took mine off, and advice at the time was to take the bezel off whilst holding it inside a bag, so that the pin at least shoots off in the bag.

If it is there, then I would take the bezel off an reinsert. But first, I'd trawl some youtube video's to double check that I'm doing it right. Good luck.

[verv]

click spring is installed like this?

[john_coburg]

that is precisely what it looks like to me.

click spring is installed like this?

[john_coburg]

click spring is installed like this?

Here's the little blighter. Now, the question is whether the spring should actually tuck into one of the adjacent grooves? Perhaps the one on the right would stiffen and tighten it up, to how it should be? There's definitely something up with it, as compared to my 16613 from the same year, it feels just awful.



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[notenoughwrists]

Just give it a little bend. What’s the worst that can happen. I did it on an old sub ln16610 and was fine.


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[john_coburg]

Just give it a little bend. What’s the worst that can happen. I did it on an old sub ln16610 and was fine.


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Requires quite a big bend to get it in that adjacent groove! And once it's bent out of shape, my guess is it's knackered..

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[notenoughwrists]

I know. But even if you knacker it, I think they’re not hard to replace that spring ;)

But first, maybe look through Mods and Wreckers. I know I have posted a few bezel strips, including Sub and GMT, over the years.
I’ll see if I can find the old photos, and site they show the bezel spring sat correctly.


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[Captaincook]

How much is a new spring and are they easily available? I would try bending it and if that doesn't work, consider replacement.

[Euan Begbie]

This is why Rolex charge a lot of money for their work.


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[verv]

Hm. it *looks* like its fitted right.
Im out of ideas, but would go with the little bend suggestion.
Alternatively it may be possible that the bezel hasn't been hoofed back down with enough thumb force, but im guessing that if you can rotate it its properly seated.

[learningtofly]

Hmmmm... I would definitely NOT bend it. The shape looks fine and it worked before - much more likely to be a fitting-related issue. I also think it might be a case of not giving it enough pressure to bed it down properly.

[endo]

I wouldnt bend the spring, if it was fine before bezel removal it ahould theoretically still be fine.


Dumb question, but did you reinstall the flat washer that is also part of the bezel assembly, without it the click will still work but you’ll get a lot of play.