La Crosse 90 bottle levers stick in "up" position.

[Marketblandings]

My '64 La Crosse LC (ILL) 90 9 has worked in almost every way since I first got it. A real hit at parties!
However, sometimes the roller-levers (sorry. Don't know the real word!)  that allow the bottles to pull out get stuck in the "up" position. This keeps any more bottles from vending, of course. The top 4 bottle holes mostly. The lower holes are much better. A flick of a finger fixes it - but my guests don't know to do that.
I put in a refurbished Mars coin-mech last year (for other reasons) and this problem surprised me by going away for months! Now I am back to sticky levers now and then.
It seems like a lube problem - but the business end of the roller levers is buried under several plates of metal. I can't even SEE where lubrication might go.

Help appreciated!

[bubba]

Spray grease works wonders for those hard to reach places.. It does sound like a lube problem

[Marketblandings]

I sprayed WD-40 into the base of the levers - but no help.
It seems like whatever operates the levers needs the grease - but that's the extremely buried part. Looks like I would have to pull out EVERYTHING just to free the metal wall plates for removal and then I might be able to look right at whatever operates the levers.
I sure hope I am wrong about that!

[Pat Pixley]

W-d40 is great stuff but it  gets under dirt, grime and grease to clean that area.
  I would pull the rack out and flip it on it's side and greese up the movmentfor the rack
 I like a Industrial Grease that seam to work good for me . 

[Marketblandings]

W-d40 is great stuff but it  gets under dirt, grime and grease to clean that area.
  I would pull the rack out and flip it on it's side and greese up the movmentfor the rack
 I like a Industrial Grease that seam to work good for me .  

I guess I am going to have to pull out the entire mechanism to get at the mechanical parts buried in the wall.   The number of screws and parts on top of parts is discouraging.... but no worse than replacing stuff under the hood of my PT cruiser!

[pepsi-perk]

I have the same machine - there is a gear mechanism located on the side of the machine separate from the stack that removes without removing the stack.  There are pegs on this gear mechanism that slip into the rollers.   The person I had bought it from had this removed from the machine so it would free vend.  There is a number of other ways to make it free vend - I thought that was an odd way of doing it.  This mechanism is pretty heavy and only held in with a number of screws...it's no big deal to undo those and pull this out so you can get to the gearing and also to the rollers.  I had this part back in the machine in less than 15 minutes when I bought it and I am fairly new to all this.

Enjoy...hope this helps.

[Marketblandings]

Well it sure sounds hopeful!
I will go over it again and see if I can see what you are talking about. I have never seen anything that looked like it could even be accessed without pulling out everything.

Will let you know.
thanks

[Marketblandings]

  There is a number of other ways to make it free vend - I thought that was an odd way of doing it. 
Enjoy...hope this helps.

I just put a small piece of wood in between the solenoid atcuator and the rear of the stack. It holds it open all day!

[pepsi-perk]

Yep - that's what I have done to mine too, but the guy before me went through a lot of work to get free vends.  Some people just have no common sense and haven't a clue what they are doing.

[Marketblandings]

Well, this took a strange turn. I pulled the entire stack out. Something like 45 screws (4 frozen needing drill-out) later I find out that the rear side (side against the wall of the machine) is just as "armor-plated" as the front! Still can't get near the roller levers and whatever mechanisms run them.
I noticed lots of white dried powder on everything - dried white grease.
There were odd little tabs that poked out through the metal plate. I tried fiddling with those when they started falling out! Little key shaped pieces and a spring for each one.
Long story short - NOW the whole thing works just like I wanted it too. Free vend or with coins.
My wife guesses that the little "keys" were some kinda anti-jimmy, anti-forcing parts (she's the world's most mechanically-inclined wife!)
But.... it sure works slick without them.
Oh well.......